The Ministry of Education insists the existing school network in Wakatipu meets population demands and provision for rising numbers of pupils continues to be "a priority".
However, the Remarkables Primary School board of trustees says special character schools should not be included in spaces available and the ministry has "knocked back" every solution to cope with demand it has offered.
In a statement attributed to Southern regional manager Raymond Webb, of Christchurch, the Ministry of Education said the Wakatipu Area Strategy "identified the expectation" a new primary school would be required to meet the needs of the growing primary school-aged population in the Wakatipu.
"The current school network meets the current population demands. The ministry continues to work on the requirements and timing for a new school.
"The ministry will continue work with all interested parties to implement the recommendations of the Wakatipu Area Strategy.
It said it was working with the board of trustees to ensure its proposed amended enrolment scheme met the requirements of the Act and ensured that siblings of pupils would remain eligible to attend the school provided their usual place of residence did not change should they be out of zone.
Remarkables Primary School board chairman John Stalker said trustees did not agree there was sufficient capability in the school network to cater for growth.
"The numbers they've given us include provision for children to go to KingsView and St Joseph's primary schools, which are special character schools and should not be included in the spaces available. If parents aren't choosing to send their children there now, why does the ministry think they will do so in the future?"
The existing network would meet demands only by Queenstown Primary School growing to a size which most families in the Wakatipu would consider unacceptable.
"When the Wakatipu Area Strategy was first drawn up in 2007, parents made it very clear that they did not want to see primary schools in the district of more than 500 or so children. We don't think the ministry is implementing those recommendations if it is happy to see continued school roll growth in this area, with no new primary school in the foreseeable pipeline, resulting in Queenstown Primary easily becoming a school of between 800 and 1000 pupils.
"The ministry has knocked back every single potential solution we have put forward to help cope with demand in the short, medium and long term, without coming up with a viable plan that will be acceptable to our parent community."
Mr Stalker said the proposed enrolment zone also created potential issues for school bus transport, with the ministry statement it would be "reviewing" bus transport for Queenstown Primary School pupils from Lake Hayes, without confirming what would be provided for Remarkables Primary School pupils living in the amended zone.
Nine new pupils in the past two weeks have taken the Remarkables Primary School roll to 353 children.
