Declining schools apply to close

Keith Brandish
Keith Brandish
Two Dunedin primary schools are in limbo after applying to the Ministry of Education for voluntary closure next year.

Declining rolls and insufficient government funding prompted Tomahawk and Waldronville Schools' boards of trustees to consult parents in their respective communities about the future of their schools, before deciding to recommend they be closed.

Richard Aitken
Richard Aitken
The recommendations have been received by the Ministry of Education, but a long process is expected before the ministry makes any decisions about whether it will close the schools or not.

In the meantime, parents of children at the schools have already been debating whether to leave their children at their schools next year, until they close, or send them to new schools where they can settle into a new environment earlier.

Waldronville School board of trustees chairman Keith Brandish said the school's situation was ridiculous.

"We're in limbo, because we're still waiting for the decision. School closes at the end of this week and we have no clear indications about who will come back.

"We are expected to keep the school open for the first term, but the likelihood is, there will be no kids here. That strikes me as absolute madness."

Mr Brandish wondered why it took so long to make a decision, and believed the Government was letting slip an opportunity to save some money.

"On the silly side, I think it could be the ideal teacher's position for the first term - sitting there in the staff room all day, drinking coffee with no stress. The only thing they will have to do is make sure the grass stays short and trimmed," he said.

"But work with the system, we must."

Tomahawk School principal Richard Aitken said he had no idea whether any of his nine pupils would return to the school next year.

"I know that the parent community is talking about where they will send their children next year.

"Whether there are children here or not, we'll be business as usual, until the Ministry of Education gives confirmation about the school's closure," he said.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

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