Schools apply to increase roll caps

Tony Sycamore
Tony Sycamore
Increased demand for boarding facilities has prompted two Dunedin secondary schools to apply to increase their roll limits by a total of 105 pupils.

Tony Sycamore, who is on the board of governors at Columba College and the board of proprietors at John McGlashan College, said both schools were also hoping to begin multimillion-dollar upgrades and expansions of their boarding facilities next year.

Mr Sycamore has applied to the Ministry of Education on behalf of both colleges to renegotiate the schools' approved rolls under their integration agreements.

The schools, like all state integrated schools, have maximum rolls set as part of their integration agreements between the Crown and the proprietor. Columba College (current roll 581) is permitted a maximum roll of 565 pupils and wants to increase this to 630.

John McGlashan (present roll 527) is permitted a maximum of 500 pupils and wants to increase it to 540.

In May this year, the ministry said the schools were in breach of their integration agreements, and expected both boards to manage the rolls back down to within their limits.

Mr Sycamore said the schools were working hard to do this but it was ''hard to achieve''.

The colleges had applied for increased roll limits because they did not receive ministry funding for excess pupils. There had also been significant increases in demand for boarding places at both schools.

''There's a number of families who choose to send their children to Dunedin, that don't live close to a high school, so boarding is the only option; and then there's another big group who choose a church based boarding school.

''The Queenstown Lakes district growth is very significant. When you look at the numbers, it's as significant as the growth you often read about in Auckland. That means in the near term, we would be reasonable to expect an even greater demand for boarding.''

The population in the Queenstown Lakes district in the 2013 census was 28,224 - an increase of 5268 (22.9%) since the 2006 census. Statistics New Zealand has forecast the population to be 41,600 by 2031.

If the roll increases were approved for the start of next year, both colleges would begin multimillion dollar developments in 2016, to upgrade and expand their boarding facilities, Mr Sycamore said.

''Columba College needs to invest in its boarding facilities because of the age of them, and John McGlashan College wants to because of the demand.

''It is also looking at the facility in its junior college which is fairly dated and tired.''

He said the facilities would continue to put Dunedin on the map as a city of education.

''For parents in the lower South Island looking for boarding opportunities, Dunedin presents a really attractive option, and something as a city we should probably embrace more.''

Mr Sycamore said he would be surprised if there was a backlash to the schools' increasing their rolls.

''It is important to note that if the roll increase is approved, it will have no material effect on the number of non boarder day pupils attending each school.

''The question I would expect other state schools to ask of our applications would be, how many pupils will be taken out of the Dunedin state school network because of the roll increases.

''The answer is none, because the only other schools that offer boarding are Otago Boys' High School and St Hilda's Collegiate, and they're both full.''

The March roll returns of Mt Aspiring College and Wakatipu High School have been increasing steadily over the past decade.

Mt Aspiring College's roll grew from 570 pupils in 2006 to 767 in 2015, and Wakatipu High School's roll grew from 717 in 2006 to 826 in 2015.

Mt Aspiring College principal Wayne Bosley said the school had a boarding facility for year 13 pupils only, so he did not believe an increase in boarding numbers in Dunedin would have a significant impact.

''We don't want to lose any students. We believe our school and the learning that we provide is equal to anybody.''

Ministry of Education sector enablement and support head Katrina Casey said consultation would be undertaken with schools whose rolls could be affected, before the ministry made a decision some time during the fourth term (October, November, December).

-john.lewis@odt.co.nz

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