After years of uncertainty about its future, the Central Otago Education Centre will transfer to new hands and remain open, but staff numbers will be cut.
The Alexandra-based facility was established by the former Dunedin College of Education in 1977 to provide education curriculum resources for loan and sale. The University of Otago has had responsibility for the operation of the centre, known as COEC, since 2007 as part of the merger with the college of education.
The university's planning and funding director David Thomson said since then, the university had explored, in consultation with interested parties, the possibility of transferring the centre into the hands of a suitable Central Otago-based group.
A charitable trust is being formed, under the wing of the Alexandra Primary School, to take over the operation of the facility and to own the land and buildings. The school is beside the centre.
Three staff are employed at the centre, working in a full-time role, with two part-time positions. Under the new ownership, only one position will be available. The Otago Daily Times contacted two of the existing staff yesterday but neither wanted to comment.
School board of trustees member and spokesman for the new trust, Mike Olsen, of Alexandra, said it made sense, because of its location, for the school to take a leading role in discussions about the future of the centre.
However, the centre would have to "stand on its own feet".
"The centre has had an axe hanging over it for years, by all accounts, and there's been a great deal of uncertainty. We hope this will secure its future and give some stability and we'll put in place a long-term strategy. Unfortunately, dropping staff was a nettle we had to grasp," Mr Olsen said.
The facility played a valuable role serving the wider Otago district, providing resources for schools and offering professional development.
"We'd like to think in the future, we'll continue to develop the site and the business as well. Education and educational resources is a very fast-moving area and e-learning is growing. COEC can take an essential role in that, as well as taking hold of some other opportunities."
The centre's buildings are the base for several tenants, including the Central Otago Kindergarten Association. Those arrangements will remain the same.
Mr Olsen said the trust would include a representative from the Central Otago Principals' Association.
The transfer will be phased in in the next two to four months.
