A Queenstown lakes community is hoping to sway plans to relocate a local school within the next decade.
File photo: Generic school classroom Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Education announced a proposal to move Hāwea Flat School less than 10 kilometres away to Lake Hāwea to cater for future population growth and developments.
On Monday night, a community meeting was held to discuss the proposal which roughly 60 people attended in person and over Zoom.
Meeting organiser Anna van Riel said the attendees believed a new school was needed, but Hāwea Flat School should stay where it was in the farmland.
"It could lead to problems if we just create a school that, sure, it might be able to encompass a bigger roll, but for how long?
"Not very long with all of the development that's happening here.
"Everyone felt pretty strongly about keeping Hāwea Flat School."
Her children were the fourth generation to attend the school, which dated back to 1882.
The community wanted to meet with the ministry to discuss options that would work for them and to have their say, she said.
"It was very, very important to the Hāwea community that we ended up with a fit-for-purpose school if that was the proposal that suited our community."
The Ministry of Education confirmed the community would have opportunities to consult and contribute to the planning of the new site and their priorities for future schooling.
Its Hautū Te Tai Runga (South leader) Nancy Bell said it was too early for wider community engagement but the school board would be kept in the loop.
"In Hāwea, population projections and the Queenstown-Lakes District Council's planning signals future growth and development will be concentrated around the lake and village," Bell said.
"We know that we will have to expand schooling to meet future growth and want to ensure it will be in the right place that provides the greatest level of access for the majority of families.
"This is why we are starting to plan for the potential relocation of Hāwea Flat School to another site to meet the future needs of the Hāwea community."
Bell said planning for a potential new school site was in its early stages and the Ministry was exploring relocation as an option including potential school sites that were typically between three and four hectares for a primary school.
"As we progress with this work, we'll work closely with the school and their community."
Any new school was projected to be between seven and 10 years away.
Meanwhile, she said the Ministry was progressing ahead with its plans to address current roll growth with new, off-site manufactured buildings.
"These buildings are light, spacious, built for modern teaching practice and to the same high standards as a traditional building built on site. In addition, they can be re-sited should we need to do so in the future.
"We are providing eight new classrooms. Earthworks have commenced and the expected completion date for the classrooms is early next year."
