School board of trustees chairman Otto Hyink is angry leaflets have been dropped around the area, encouraging people to sign a petition that urges the school to investigate and commit to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative for heating by the end of 2018, as opposed to the present method of burning coal.
The leaflets, created by Y Jiang, say: "Opoho School put you [sic] words into action and stop burning coal.
"Opoho School is marketing itself as having one of the highest standards of Enviroschools in New Zealand.
"However, it burns between 12 to 14 tones [sic] of coal a year which can potentially lead to health implications ranging from asthma, lung cancer and heart disease.
"Opoho’s practices are contributing almost 40 tones [sic] of carbon dioxide annually to an already over-polluted atmosphere.
"Will you allow your children to study in this polluted environment?"
Dr Hyink was angry the leaflet appeared to be "shaming" the school into upgrading or replacing its boiler, when it was not financially in a position to do so.
"It’s unfair. The majority of Dunedin schools still operate coal-fired boilers.
"We don’t have money to replace the school’s heating system on a whim.
"We have to work with the Ministry of Education."
He said the school was given grants from the ministry every five years to spend on property maintenance and improvements, but it was nowhere near enough to upgrade or replace the present boiler.
He said investigations had found it could cost up to $100,000 to convert the coal boiler to burn woodchips, or up to $500,000 to replace it completely.
The figures were confirmed by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
University of Otago plant operations and controls energy manager Hans Pietsch said for a small school like Opoho, it could cost between $120,000 and $220,000 to replace the boiler, but if pumps, piping, radiators and bunker etc also needed replacing, it could cost up to $500,000.
Dr Hyink said the present boiler was about 50 years old and nearing the "end of life".
The board’s investigations had found conversion was not an option because of the boiler’s age.
He said replacement was the "sensible option", but it would not be feasible until the boiler reached end-of-life, when the board would get significant financial support from the Ministry of Education.
"Otherwise, that will cost us about 10 years worth of property money.
"That money is for maintaining all of the school’s property, not just the heating system."
If those who signed the petition wanted it done sooner, they could put their money where their mouth was, he said.
"We received a letter from a few people, including the person who set up the petition, which said money was just an excuse.
"We responded by saying we don’t have any [money], so feel free to donate to the cause."
Y Jiang is a third-year student studying one of Ralph Adler’s papers at the University of Otago. Prof Adler lives next to Opoho School.
One of the projects in the paper is an "activist project", in which students select an organisation to "influence" and "make more responsible", Prof Adler said.
"There’s different groups doing different things, and one group — the one which [Y Jiang] is in — they’ve chosen to look at the environmental practices of schools in Dunedin. They’re trying to influence what’s happening."
"I haven’t seen it [the leaflet], but I’m not unhappy about it.
"We live in a society where I hope there’s free speech, where people care about society, and we have scientific evidence which tells us that this is wrong what we’re doing."
In an emailed response to questions, Miss Jiang said her project focused on Opoho School because it promoted itself as caring for the environment, as well as being the top Dunedin school in the nationwide Enviroschool programme.
"Yet after discussions that have already been held with the school and with professors at the University of Otago, they have made no resulting attempt to manage their practice of burning coal.
"The main problem to the schools does seem to be they don’t currently have enough funds to support a new heating system.
"However, funding options are available, such as the Ministry of Education providing capital development funding to the school each year which the school has discretion to spend in any manner they see fit.
"We are not meaning to unjustly target Opoho School. However, we are intending to place pressure on the school to take their Enviroschool stance seriously and robustly investigate funding options and alternatives rather than just playing a waiting game until someone else does it for them.
"In comparison, for example, Logan Park High School weren’t sitting on their principles. They made the decision to convert to a sustainable heating option, went out there and secured funding for half their conversion from EECA."
She said her project aimed to encourage schools to solve the funding and technology problems inherent in converting from coal to a sustainable energy option, and she believed Opoho was in a prime position to lead the way for other Dunedin schools.
"This assignment has been designed by us to get the ball rolling, get people talking about the issue and working together as a community to achieve better outcomes."
Logan Park High School acting principal Peter Hill was supportive of Opoho School’s plight. He said Logan Park was one of only a few schools in Dunedin which had converted its coal-fired boilers to wood.
The school was forced to make the change about a decade ago when the Otago Regional Council tightened emissions regulations, which meant the school would not be able to get resource consent to continue using its coal-fired boilers.
Mr Hill said upgrading or replacing the school’s boiler was not a decision that should be rushed or taken lightly.
"There’s a lot of time, energy and expense in doing it well, and it shouldn’t be rushed into. You’ve got to prepare well for it."
Otago Primary Principals’ Association chairwoman Debbie Smith said state schools were between a rock and a hard place, because boards of trustees did not own school property, the ministry did. So even if the school could somehow accumulate enough funds to replace its boiler, it would have to get permission from the ministry to do it.
Mrs Smith said the ministry preferred to replace coal boilers rather than convert them, because they did not want to
repair or replace them again in 10 years’ time.
"Also, if you’re spending money on a boiler, you’re not spending money on modern learning environments to enhance children’s learning.
"You’ve got to weigh up what is most important."
