Queenstown Times: Why did you want to become a board member and how long have you been in the role?
Rodney Moore: There was a vacancy when one of the parents resigned, so [I] volunteered for it. At the time, two of my children were at the school and I thought it was time to give it a go. You're always concerned about your children's education and it's been an interesting experience. It's very surprising how the education system works, or how it's not working in some cases.
QT: What is the biggest issue facing Glenorchy School pupils and what do you want done to tackle it?
RM: I think the biggest issue facing any country school is funding from the Government. Why is it so tight? It's important to produce children who are educated in the right fields and what's more important?
People say we're isolated [in Glenorchy] and we are, to an extent, but I come from Gisborne and there are schools on the east coast which are 160km away from the nearest big town and on shingle roads. We're on a two-lane highway.
Keeping the roll numbers up is a big challenge. If you drop below 26 pupils, you lose a teacher, which makes it very difficult. We have come close to it. At the moment we're pretty hunky dory because of the numbers we're have got.
We have to travel a lot of kilometres to go to various sport functions, but it's important to do it because it broadens social horizons.
QT: Will National Standards improve a pupil's education?
RM: National Standards are really no consequence to us. At every board meeting, we get the principal's report and we see the progress of every child, but not their names, and we see where they should be in their age-group compared to the national average.
I think that's one advantage of being a small school, you can cover the whole school quite easily.
As a parent, I don't like the idea of one size fits all. Every child is an individual and should be treated as such.
QT: How would you describe the school's financial situation and what needs to be done to improve it?
RM: We've got a fairly tight budget which is monitored at every meeting. Mary Lou [Grant, principal] does a good job with it. Mostly we get a set amount from the Government and there's a lot of community contributions. PTFA do a lot for us.
Fundraising's done on race day. Our main income is from the barbecue and it does help. Sometimes we've had the Glenorchy Ball, but that wasn't done by the PTFA this year.
We can work within what the Government gives us, but it's the bare minimum.
QT: What are the advantages and disadvantages of Glenorchy School's distance from Queenstown?
RM: They say they're going to build a dental clinic in Frankton and that means probably a day off school and work to take your child there. We're not on the mobile list; maybe they think we're too close to Queenstown.
One of the advantages is we've got more than 100,000ha of playground.
QT: How are pupils prepared for high school and are there more ways to familiarise them?
RM: Keeping year 7 and 8s at the school was a priority when I first joined the board three and a-half to four years ago. Now events are arranged for them; like last year they climbed Mt Alfred and stayed on a farm, which encourages them to be leaders of the school and be role models.
My daughter is 14 and three other girls of that age made the transition to high school comfortably; that was due to the initiatives we put in.
QT: How can the community help Glenorchy School?
RM: The community's helping the school now. I don't think we can ask for any more help.
