The Ministry of Education said there were 12 schools and more than 4000 pupils in the low-lying coastal suburb, and the ministry was encouraging them to take part in upcoming community consultation on the future of South Dunedin.
The joint-Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council South Dunedin Future consultation will ask the public for their views on seven multibillion-dollar approaches to prepare the area for a future heavily impacted by rising groundwater and an increasing frequency and severity of storms.
Tainui School principal Shelley Wilde said although children today would likely be around to see the 75-year visions for South Dunedin now talked about come to fruition, they were not at an age to grasp what was being proposed.
Nevertheless, they were aware heavy rain could cause trouble in their neighbourhood.
"If their property has been affected with flooding or leaking, they start to feel worried when it rains.
"What we notice as a school [is] that the children think that each time it rains ... that event might happen again.
"We also do have families that have had to shift house or move out of their house for a period of time.
"We do have one family particularly at the moment that is in quite a precarious situation with the house they’re in.
"That’s hard going for families where they’ve had to leave their possessions behind and sort of try and start over again."
A children’s sense of "stability and normality" was impacted when their life at home was turned upside down.
And surface flooding was evident at the school, too.
An area known as The Adventure, a children’s play area planted out in trees and shrubs, could course with water in heavy rain, especially since greenfield space above it had started to be developed.
After the October flood last year, a tree started to lean and had to be felled.
Bathgate Park School principal Katrina Robertson said the school was "actively" part of the 2015 flood in South Dunedin and parts of the community regularly flooded since during heavy rain, which could cut off access to the school.
"We are aware that there are a lot of families in our community that do have some anxiety and worry about the continual repeating of the flooding through their properties or the areas."
And although she recognised the city faced a housing crisis, she personally struggled to understand how high-density developments such as townhouses were still being consented in problematic areas.
"What is the effect of actually doing that long-term?
"In the immediate, yes ... but those hard choices have to be made.
"It's been years that these conversations have been going on for.
"It's not like it's just started out.
"And I struggle to see how much has changed over that time."
King's High School rector Nick McIvor said his school could use support.
The school — the largest in South Dunedin — already had a tree seedling planting programme in place as part of the school's grounds development plan.
However, it only had funding for seedlings, which would take about 20 years to develop deep root systems capable of absorbing and storing water.
"If we were to get funding to do extensive planting of semi-mature trees to reduce floor risks due to their rapid-growing extensive root systems around the perimeter of the school, particularly on the south side of the grounds closest to at-risk zone, the King's grounds would also be able to provide substantial support for underground stabilisation to enable excess water absorption and run off," he said.
Ministry of Education Te Tai Runga south leader Nancy Bell said the risks from sea level rise that schools faced were the same as those faced by the community as a whole.
The ministry monitored changing conditions for all schools and their sites and responded to community needs as well as changes in population and demographics as they arise over time.
"We will continue to support the needs of the schools in the area, including planning for the future," she said.
"We are reading the recent reports on possible futures for South Dunedin with interest and are looking forward to the outcome of community consultation on this latest stage of this work."
The ministry had notified schools in the area about the upcoming South Dunedin Future consultation period and encouraged them to engage in the process, she said.
