The announcement five South Dunedin schools will merge into two next year brought an emotional reaction even though it appeared to be a "fait accompli", the principals of the affected schools said yesterday.
While no-one was surprised at yesterday's announcement by the Minister of Education, Anne Tolley, some school communities were looking forward, while others were concerned about the future.
Macandrew Intermediate and Forbury School will become one full primary school on the Macandrew site from next year.
College Street School, Caversham School, and Calton Hill School will also merge to be one full primary school on the Caversham School site from next year, with a second campus at the Calton Hill site, to be reviewed in two years.
A disappointed and angry Forbury School principal, Janice Tofia, said while she knew the merger decision could go either way, she and her staff and pupils were most upset yesterday by the way the announcement was made.
She said she was given no time after meeting ministry officials in the morning to inform her staff or pupils of the decision.
One of her staff had burst into tears when approached by media and asked how she felt about the school closing, before Mrs Tofia got out of the meeting.
"I was horrified ... it was just disgusting. We had a plan for managing the news to staff and pupils, but there was no time for that. I had teachers in tears, pupils in tears. I am not happy."
Mrs Tolley's decisions follow four weeks of public consultation on an identical preliminary decision released earlier this year.
The continuing decline in pupil numbers in the area meant less funding for all five schools and having the pupils at two schools would make the schools sustainable, Mrs Tolley said.
"I understand this is an emotional time for the school, and I can assure everyone this was not an easy decision to make. But all of the schools involved agreed there was a need for change - this is something that has been talked about for many years - and they wanted me to make a decision."
The Macandrew site provided "much better facilities for children", with a wider range of teaching spaces, including a refurbished school hall and technology facilities.
Macandrew's board of trustees supported the merger, but the Forbury School board, with support from parents and the wider South Dunedin community, disagreed with it because, among other reasons, the school's roll had been increasing; it would mean there would be no school in a large part of South Dunedin and the Macandrew site was inadequate for children of primary school age.
The principals of schools involved in the other mergers were yesterday looking to the future.
Glenda Jack (Calton Hill), Mike Darracott (Caversham) and Gary Tenbeth (College Streer) said they were not surprised by the announcement.
Mr Darracott said the decision was a "fait accompli" and he was not "in any way surprised by it."
