The Ministry of Education is discussing relocating the Arthur Street School infants’ building to Christchurch as part a wider school redevelopment.
The building is New Zealand’s oldest school building and the issue of its future has generated much concern among those interested in the city’s built heritage.
Montessori Primary Development Association (MPDA) secretary Roberta Coutts said establishing a Montessori school in the building would be the "perfect solution" to keeping the building on site.
The association, a charitable trust, would be able to apply for funding to manage and maintain the building.
She had proposed the idea to the board of trustees twice, once in 2020 and again last year, but it was declined each time.
A Montessori programme had operated at the school from 1993 to 2008, she said.
The association had all the equipment needed to set up a classroom and it could be ready to go in a few days.
The issue would be "so easily solved".
Ms Coutts was "embedded" in the historic building community, and had spent 15 years as manager of King Edward Court, Dunedin’s largest historic building.
That gave her the knowledge and connections to ensure the school building was looked after, she said.
She was concerned relocating it would damage it.
Southern Heritage Trust founding trustee Ann Barsby said the proposal was one of many good solutions out there.
The idea of relocating the building was "ludicrous" and the school had "a duty to find another use".
Arthur Street School principal Kim Blackwood said the board of trustees had given the Montessori proposal "serious consideration".
There were a variety of reasons it was declined, but the main one was that the school was over its roll capacity at the time, and the site did not have enough room to deal with more children safely.
Recently, Ministry of Education infrastructure and digital leader Scott Evans said it was in discussions with Ferrymead Heritage Park in Christchurch as a possible relocation option for the infants’ building.
Feasibility work was under way ahead of public consultation.
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Is there concern that some pupils would transfer to Montessori even though this would solve the problem of capacity in Arthur Street and other schools? It looks from the outside like a very sensible suggestion for keeping the building in its right place and catering for Dunedin's children who deserve educational choices to best suit their learning.
"A Montessori programme had operated at the school from 1993 to 2008," said Roberta Coutts, Montessori Primary Development Association secretary.
Arthur Street School principal Kim Blackwood said the main reason for opposing was that the school was over its roll capacity at the time, and the site did not have enough room to deal with more children safely.