Groundswell NZ said the Ministry of Education using synthetic carpet in schools, instead of wool, was a "woeful decision". File photo / NZME
Groundswell NZ said the Ministry of Education using synthetic carpet in schools, instead of wool, was a "woeful decision". File photo / NZME
A Ministry of Education programme installing synthetic carpet in the classrooms of more than 800 small and rural schools throughout New Zealand says schools cannot even pay the price difference and top up to a wool option.
Improving Classrooms for Small and Remote Schools is a programme being delivered by the Ministry of Education.
It includes improved classroom lighting, sound insulation, electricity upgrades and the replacement of carpet in the teaching spaces.
The ministry revealed to the Otago Daily Times last week it had awarded the carpet tender to global manufacturer Milliken Group, an American-based company that manufactures solution-dyed nylon carpet, chemical products, textile materials and healthcare goods.
Ministry of Education head of property, infrastructure and digital Sam Fowler said a key part of what had made the programme successful was it had centralised the procurement of products and services “so that we can leverage on a greater scale and repeatability to achieve better public value”.
They could choose to opt out of the carpet programme and pay with their own funds if they wished to lay a carpet product of their own choice.
Poolburn School is one of the schools which is pencilled to receive classroom improvements under the carpet programme.
Principal Melissa Gare said the improvements roll-out was behind schedule and the topic of carpet replacement had not yet been raised with the school by the programme’s project manager.
Poolburn Primary School principal Melissa Gare. Photo / Supplied
“Being a rural school in a farming community, of course, it would be ideal if we could have wool carpet installed, but at the end of the day cost comes into play and we need to consider where the best use of our own funds is going to go.”
The school recently featured in Southern Rural Life with its Westridge wool jersey uniform, which Gare said was an easy choice to implement with the help of the school’s home and school committee, which raised funds to subsidise the jerseys for families.
Bigger issues such as carpet installation were “a little bit trickier”.
“Sometimes it can be hard to deviate away from the box the ministry puts us in.
“We need to pick the battles we choose to take on”, Gare said.
All schools received property maintenance funds as part of their operating grant from the ministry “but it’s a pretty minor amount”.
“It wouldn’t come close to what it would cost to fit out all of our classrooms in wool carpet.
“It would need to be community-raised money, and then you start questioning if that money might be better spent on learning resources or staffing - things that are going to offer a tangible benefit to our children,” she said.
It was too soon to say what the outcome would be for her school and whether it would accept the ministry-supplied synthetic carpet or choose to self-fund wool carpet.
“We need to discuss it as a board and make a decision on which way we’ll go.”
Meanwhile, Groundswell NZ has come into bat for New Zealand sheep farmers, calling on the Green Party as an unlikely ally in the “woeful decision”.
“We aren’t often natural allies, but surely the Greens, who purport to be champions of the environment, sustainability and struggling Kiwis, would not be so hypocritical as to support the Government in this,” Groundswell founder Bryce McKenzie said.
“Politicians have told farmers repeatedly that consumers want lower emissions and more sustainability, and we have challenged that price is always the final dictator of purchase decisions.
“This proves that when the New Zealand Government is the consumer, they put price above sustainability, disproving their own theory.
“It is appalling that this decision tramples all over goals toward environmental sustainability.
“This Government has showered our communities with unworkable regulations in the name of the environment and sustainable farming and yet don’t even prioritise these things themselves when making large purchasing decisions.”
The Green Party has put its support behind New Zealand wool growers saying it would prefer to see locally-produced wool used for carpet tiles.
