Teacher murder prompts security rethink

Principal Murray Kendrick said the killing suddenly made all schools vulnerable. Picture / Alan Gibson

Police and teachers say the murder of Tokoroa teacher Lois Dear has forced a rethink on security, but hope it won't stop teachers feeling safe working in their classrooms outside school hours.

Ms Dear was found dead with severe head injuries in a classroom at Tokoroa's Strathmore School on Sunday.

Investigation head Detective Inspector Garth Bryan this morning said police were working through interviews and there was still no clear motive or suspect in the case.

He said while New Zealand was a relatively safe country, incidents such as this one knocked people's confidence.

"I hope we get this guy very quickly and things can get back to normal," he told National Radio.

"But something has been lost as a result of this and that is that feeling of safety of teachers being able to be in their classrooms before school and after school."

Principal Murray Kendrick said he didn't consider it a wake up call, but that it suddenly made all schools vulnerable.

Another Strathmore school teacher, Ngaire Taikato, told Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper that teachers at the school were concerned at the amount of time Ms Dear spent at the school and had warned her not to work alone.

She said all teachers needed to spend time in classrooms outside school hours and now there was talk of doing it in pairs for safety.

Other principals said they didn't think the incident meant all teachers should feel worried about working at school after hours.

One of the main focuses of the murder investigation has been the discovery of Ms Dear's blue Toyota Corolla hatchback behind a church on the corner of Mossop Rd and State Highway 1 on Sunday.

The car, which appeared to have been stolen, was in the final stages of being examined today and police hoped that would provide some clues.

Mr Bryan also said "some items" were found on Ms Dear's body after she was killed but would not comment any further.

Teachers and pupils returned to the school today after police lifted a cordon, but a decision about the future of the classroom where Ms Dear was found is not clear yet.

- NZPA