School configurations don't add up

Schools have certainly been in the headlines this year. I guess it would be unusual if they weren't, given the importance of education and that nobody likes change.

The Christchurch schools situation is one which has also drawn huge debate as people have marched and protested any changes to their school configurations, while all the time admitting that there needs to be some change. I guess you can't demolish thousands of houses in a city, affecting several thousand people, including school children, without affecting their education. This is without considering the cost of repair of severely earthquake-impacted schools.

Our electorate has seen its fair share of changes in the past 10 years, with about 11 schools closed, two area schools created, and two schools amalgamated on to one campus. Most of this has happened in South Taranaki, but Wanganui has been affected too. There remains the issue of Wanganui Collegiate, which is still being decided, and, in recent days, attention drawn to the unusual zoning arrangements in Wanganui for school enrolments.

The Wanganui Collegiate issue is a separate one. I know some local schools will be arguing that any money spent on Collegiate should instead have been directed into the state school system. I'm not sure that this position reflects how crucial to the economy and continuity of other essential services this one school is to our city. We await the minister's decision with interest.

In South Taranaki, the loss of Waverley High School and the creation of Patea Area School, with the loss of Patea Primary, has really shaken up the mix. Hawera High School has seen investment and is strong, yet is way down on numbers from 20 years ago. Many children still travel out of the area for schooling at New Plymouth Boys' and Girls', Wanganui Collegiate, Sacred Heart, Francis Douglas, and St Mary's Diocesan. That is choice and they pay for that choice along with a taxpayer contribution.

Looking at the Wanganui end of the electorate, there is a weird configuration of enrolment zones that sees some children travelling past schools in order to attend another.

With three state schools, one integrated school and a private school, competition is fierce for "bums on seats". There are more than 1000 empty places in our secondary schools just in Wanganui city.

Of the three state schools, one is 106 per cent of cap with nearly 1800 students and the other two are well under capacity with just over or just under 400 students. It seems odd to see two schools shrink while one school has grown exponentially, when they are all state operated. This situation has continued unabated for many years at the expense of schools which each have their features, strengths and threats.

When it comes to education, no one is prepared to concede on any point, if they believe that will see their own situation affected. While understandable, this risks creating a parochial view of a situation screaming out for a broader one.

There is no doubt there needs to be a closer look at how, where and why we place schools in Wanganui, who we prescribe shall attend them, and what that configuration should look like.