Principals left 'in the dark' over fate of school building projects

Canterbury school principals say they were surprised to learn the fate of their school building projects through the media.

The Ministry of Education has put 100 school build projects on hold in a bid to save $2 billion, while 252 projects would go ahead. Of those, 110 would progress with changes.

A list of what school builds would go ahead, and which ones would be halted was released last week.

Woodend School principal Andrew Retallick said it was ‘‘like a rollercoaster’’ after he learned his school would not be receiving new classrooms this year.

After a call to the Ministry, Retallick said he has a meeting next week to discuss temporary arrangements.

Amuri Area School principal Matt Barlow said he was ‘‘completely in the dark’’ when contacted by Local Democracy Reporting, but he was pleased to learn his school’s redevelopment will proceed to the design stage.

Kaiapoi North School and Swannanoa School have also learned their building projects will not proceed this year, but Te Kura o Tuahiwi will receive new classrooms and a school hall as planned.

A Ministry of Education 'value for money' review considered 350 projects with a combined cost of $4.6 billion.

On Friday, the ministry released the outcome of its review, with 100 projects on hold.

Changes made to a further 110 projects include removing non-essential aspects or using modular or off-the-shelf rather than bespoke designs.

Mr Retallick said Woodend School is already at its capacity of 490 students and will need to use the library or the staff room as classrooms to get through to the end of the year.

He said 98 new students had been enrolled so far this year, with at least another 20 expected to enrol in the coming months, on the back of the booming Ravenswood sub-division.

‘‘And that is just the ones we know about.

‘‘We just want a solution, whether it is a temporary or a permanent one.

‘‘We just need to have something in place for next year.’’

Kaiapoi North School principal Jason Miles said the delay is not as significant for his school, as the roll is not growing as fast as Woodend School.

Swannanoa School is managing its growth by converting a board of trustees-owned storeroom into a classroom.

Te Kura o Tuahiwi School principal Dot Singh said it was a relief to learn her school’s build would proceed as planned, even it is nearly a year later.

While she is awaiting the details from the Ministry, she understood new modular classrooms were being built in Nelson.

‘‘We are grateful to have new classrooms and a hall will be built from the ground up.

‘‘We will be able to have prizegivings together. It is going to be great.’’

The project is expected to begin in September and be completed in May.

In the meantime, the Māori immersion school will use prefab classrooms, as the roll grows from 175 pupils to 200 by the end of the year.

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.