Education Minister Anne Tolley stressed no final decision has been made on the fate of Paerau School, despite her having sent a letter to the school's board of trustees recommending it be closed.
Mrs Tolley initiated consultation with the school about its future in September last year when it had just two pupils - the children of principal Steve Harley. Since then, the school had offered free rent to families wanting to move to Paerau, and the roll had increased to 11 pupils.
After consultation, Mrs Tolley found the school's low roll and small number of preschool children in the district were reasons for considering closure of the school.
"After considering all the information provided to me, I consider that bringing families into a community to maintain the school is not a long-term solution for the roll decline at Paerau School, and that it should close," she said in a letter to the board.
Board of Trustees chairwoman Erin Elworthy said the community was shocked at the decision because after the consultation process, the ministry recommended the school remain open.
The school recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Education raising concerns about the speed with which the process had been conducted, how Mrs Tolley had arrived at the decision (against the advice of the ministry), and the lack of alternative options provided by the ministry to educate the pupils.
"We as a community were told that there is no legislation stating how many students a school should have. As long as the school is financially sound, children are receiving a quality education, and we have a teacher, there is no reason to close the school. We tick all three boxes."
Mrs Elworthy said closing the school would seriously undermine the economic stability of their farming community.
It would also deny the community the opportunity to employ families with children, deny children the right to a free state education because of their geographical location, and deny the community and children a stable environment in which to grow up.
The school is 45km from the nearest school in Ranfurly, and can only be accessed by more than 25km of unsealed roads which were often closed in adverse weather conditions.
Mrs Elworthy said the 45-minute drive each day to Ranfurly was not conducive to helping young children learn.
"There is no cellphone coverage along this road which is another geographically isolated issue when travelling regularly. This becomes a safety issue for children. In the education report, it states that Paerau School is too remote for fibre broadband. However, Paerau School according to you, is not too remote to close." Mrs Elworthy wanted Mrs Tolley to personally visit the school before making the final decision.
A spokesman for the minister said Mrs Tolley was unable to comment on the situation because it was now part of a legal process.
He said she was awaiting the ministry's final report.
