Staff at Romahapa School feel they have reached an impasse and have sent an urgent letter to Minister for Education Nikki Kaye about overcrowding at the rural primary school in the Catlins.
The letter, written by Romahapa School Board of Trustees chairwoman Megan Carey said staff at the school had been in discussions with local Ministry of Education representatives for over 18 months.
"We appear to have reached an impasse which is completely unacceptable to our board of trustees and teaching staff.''
The school has over 85 pupils enrolled and was "operating under extremely crowded conditions'' at over 220% of the capacity of its buildings.
The school was "squeezing'' four classrooms of children into two teaching spaces.
There was overflow into a number of other rooms at the school which were not designed as permanent teaching spaces.
After earlier discussions with the ministry, the school had implemented an enrolment scheme which would reduce the roll to a more manageable level over time.
However, based on current projections and feedback from families, the school expected the roll to remain at over 80 pupils for at least another three years.
In the letter, Mrs Carey said the situation was "totally unacceptable'' and would hinder the progress of pupils.
"We know all learners have different learning styles and at present we cannot cater for some of their needs.''
Mrs Carey said there were other schools in South Otago which had spare capacity.
More to come.
