Queenstown Times: Why did you want to become a board member and how long have you been in the role?
Fr Tony Harrison: The Bishop appoints the parish priest to be one of his proprietor's representatives. I have been on the boards of five schools now and have been a member of a board since Tomorrow's Schools began in 1989.
QT: Will National Standards improve a pupil's education at the school?
TH: The current practice of student evaluation already enables teachers to chart student progress. National Standards will provide another measure. The most important objective is to ensure that all children, including gifted children, are able to achieve their full potential.
QT: Is a Catholic education relevant in today's society?
TH: Society has become more individualistic and, dare I say, selfish. There is a growing amount of violence in the community. It is important that there is a means by which other values can be taught. The Religious Education Programme is integrated into the whole school curriculum and is not a stand-alone subject. The children are able to learn how they can integrate the values of respect for others and the environment into their daily lives. The document that underpins Catholic education in New Zealand is "We Live and Teach Christ Jesus". These values will enable the children to grow to be good citizens who will respect others as well as themselves. These are formative years and it is necessary that what is taught at school is supported by what they learn from within their own family life. The experience of family life must be in harmony with what they learn.
QT: How would you describe the school's financial situation and what needs to be done to improve it?
TH: Most schools struggle with finance. One of the contributing factors is the decile rating that is given to schools. While it may be true of where a school is physically situated, often-times the catchment area from which the school draws its pupils is much wider. That being the case, the decile rating does not represent the make-up of the school roll.
QT: What benefits will the proposed Speargrass Flat campus bring to St Joseph's pupils and the community?
TH: The Beetham St site at present is at capacity. To allow for Catholic education for the growing population in the area of Arrowtown and Lake Hayes Estate, the property on Speargrass Flat will be of benefit. This will take the pressure off the Queenstown site. Blessed Mary MacKillop arrived in Arrowtown and began a school there in 1897. It will be a resurrection of Catholic education in that area of the Wakatipu Basin.
QT: What is your response to concerns by appellants the campus would increase traffic and noise and detrimentally affect the amenity?
TH: The whole Queenstown area has undergone a lot of growth and change, and it is still changing.I note that on Speargrass Flat Rd there is already a sign advising motorists of the presence of children in the area.More new residential sections are for sale nearby and there is a resource application for a further three sections to be subdivided on that road. There may be a greater volume of traffic at the start and the end of the school day. Better to hear the sound of children playing. I have lived beside schools for nearly 40 years and know how few hours of the day that traffic and noise would impact on a neighbourhood. We are in another era, with changing demographic patterns, and we can only try to do our best to plan for the future of our children."
