Whangaruru students must be supported

Whangaruru students must be supported following charter school failure

The Whangaruru charter school agreement has been formally terminated and NZEI Te Riu Roa says the key focus must now be the welfare and future education of the students caught up in this failed ideological experiment.

NZEI President Louise Green said charter school proponents would say the closure of the school showed the success of the scheme in removing underperformers, but children were the casualties of any closure as their education was disrupted yet again.

“Using the charter school funding to support these kids in their local schools would have been a far more effective use of taxpayers’ money and there would have been plenty left over to help many more struggling Northland children.

“The whole scheme is a waste of money as buildings and resources are replicated in competition with existing public schools,” she said.

Ms Green said it also remained to be seen whether the government would be able to recover the land and buildings that the Ngā Parirau Mātauranga Charitable Trust purchased with $1.6 million of establishment funding. The school also received $3.2 million of operational funding over the past two years.

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