400 attend South Auckland Charter School Meeting

Catherine Isaac confused and delighted 400 people at the public meeting held in South Auckland with her announcement last night that there has been no decision to trial charter schools in South Auckland. No region has been settled on and South Auckland could now no longer be in the mix.

Associate Professor Peter O’Connor of the University of Auckland, who organised the meeting, says the announcement caught the audience by surprise. That and her fellow announcement that there would need to be legislative changes to get charters schools operational. He says the obvious confusion in the Banks-led initiative means that the inevitability of charter schools can now be questioned.

O’Connor says “The performance of Catherine Isaac at the meeting confirmed to many in the educational sector that her appointment was purely political. Clearly she has little idea of the complexity of the issues facing education."

The heated and at times angry meeting struggled to find any answers about the introduction of charter schools from a confused and clearly rattled Isaac.

ENDS

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