26 Feb 2021

Taihape farmer slams state of local school

From Morning Report, 6:41 am on 26 February 2021

A Taihape farmer and father is calling the Education Ministry 'incompetent'.

The town's year one-to-13 Taihape Area School, built in just 2009, has been slammed in official reports for years for its design, engineering and construction.

But its rebuild keeps getting delayed.

Backed up sewers smell and it costs the school $100,000 a year to keep its 250 plus pupils warm.

That's twice as much as it should be paying for power. Local farmer Andy Law has had four children go to the school - one is still there.

He was on the board of trustees for five years - and was chair last year, when he resigned 'in disgust'.