The Ministry of Education says it acknowledges "the strength of feeling" in the Wakatipu community over roll-growth issues and will have more to say once consultation has finished.
The Otago Daily Times asked the ministry again this week for its response to urgent calls from the board of Remarkables Primary School to determine and announce its plans for education provision, in the face of projected overcrowding in all non-religious state schools in the Wakatipu by 2013.
The ministry was asked by the ODT if it would guarantee the 220 children in the proposed amended home zone roll would stay in place for as long as parents of children at the school and their siblings continued to live at the "tagged" address, as trustees sought.
The ministry was asked if it would organise a community meeting to discuss population growth and education planning, as it promised.
The ministry was also asked for firm details on where and when it would build its new school in the Wakatipu, which communities would be in the enrolment zone, how many children and what years it would accommodate and how much it would cost.
A statement attributed to Southern regional manager Raymond Webb, of Christchurch, said ensuring there was provision for the rising numbers of pupils in the Wakatipu was "a priority" for the ministry.
"The ministry will continue to work with the local community to ensure a viable long-term solution is found. It acknowledges the strength of feeling in the Wakatipu area over roll-growth issues which is reflected in the number of responses it has received in the recent consultation.
"The ministry will review them carefully before deciding on the next steps. In the meantime, it would be inappropriate to discuss details until those submissions have been fully analysed."
The board has given the ministry until September 26 to respond to the concerns raised during public consultation on the proposed "band-aid" enrolment zone reduction. The school must plan staffing, operational budget and infrastructure needs for 2012.
An overwhelming 139 respondents told the school board they were "not happy" with the proposed zone changes, which would exclude pupils from five Queenstown suburbs from term two next year, approved by the ministry. Five said they were "happy" and a dozen did not answer.
