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Piers Fuller / Stuff
Education Minister Chris Hipkins (left) and Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty (right) at Greytown Elementary School in South Wairarapa, where the minister announced $ 164 million of new spending on school construction projects.
The first thing the Education Minister said to a crowded school room in South Wairarapa was that what happens in a classroom is more important than the buildings themselves.
But in the case of Greytown Primary School, $ 6 million in new classrooms will change what happens inside them.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins was there to announce new spending worth $ 164 million on New Zealand school property.
It was great news for schools like Greytown, which are creaking under the weight of growing student numbers and 100-year-old classrooms.
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Principal Patrice O’Connor said the new classroom spaces would help them deliver the modern curriculum as designed.
“It means that our vision of teaching and learning can finally be seen on our property. At the moment, our property is single-cell classrooms, ”he said.
“Our new builds will be flexible spaces … so the way we want to collaborate and be innovative with our learning can happen.”
The expansion plans take three and a half years in the planning, and the chairwoman of the board of trustees, Jane Cooper, said it had to happen soon because the city was “going crazy.”
“Greytown has grown tremendously. The number of houses that have entered and the people that have moved into our small town has been incredible. We have had to look ahead and see how we can accommodate all these children because we are the only ones [primary] school in Greytown. “
PIERS FULLER / Things
Greytown Elementary Principal Patrice O’Connor and Board Chair Jane Cooper say that with the city’s growth, they need more classrooms and more modern environments to deliver their learning.
The announcement was part of the Government’s National School Redevelopment Program, a multi-year upgrade of the country’s aging school infrastructure.
About $ 132 million has been announced to fund projects in North Island schools from the far north to Wairarapa.
Hipkins was scheduled to announce another $ 32 million for South Island schools on Friday.
The ministry said that overall the program would create up to 3,000 new jobs and benefit 7,500 students.
“The election provided a clear mandate to accelerate our economic recovery and rebuild better,” Hipkins said. “That is why we are prioritizing construction projects in schools so that more young New Zealanders can learn in warm, dry and modern classrooms that are fit for purpose.”
The projects would contribute to their local economies by employing builders, plumbers, carpenters, roofers and electricians, who in turn would need to buy products and supplies from local stores, the ministry said.
Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty said the money for Greytown School would help replace a 100-year-old block of five classrooms, which had severely deteriorated over time, and build four new classrooms for the school’s growth.
“I know that the school and the wider community have been waiting for this for a long time. It is fair that families expect quality classrooms for their children to learn ”.
Wairarapa Rep. Kieran McNulty at Greytown School, who will receive $ 6 million for new buildings as part of a larger government fund for school infrastructure.
Much of the funding package was aimed at creating more spaces for students in areas with increasing populations, such as Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
Projects announced Thursday include:
- $ 4.5 million for dynamic growth classrooms at two schools in Tai Tokerau: Karetu School and Kaitaia School
- More than $ 10 million to expand Ormiston Elementary School, more than $ 10 million to expand Kauri Flats School and create space for an additional 350 students, $ 9 million to rebuild and expand Browns Bay School.
- $ 30 million for 91 short-term continuous growth classrooms for students in Auckland
- $ 4 million for roll-up classrooms at two Waikato schools, including Raglan Area School and Hukanui School
- More than $ 30 million for three new schools and expansions in the Bay of Plenty for more than 1,000 additional students. These include: Te Okuroa Drive School, Papamoa College, and Taumata School
- $ 2.5 million for growth classrooms at two Gisborne schools: Wainui Beach School and Waikirikiri School
- $ 1 million for two more classrooms at Te Horo school in Ōtaki
- $ 25 million for 77 short-term continuous growth classrooms in 24 schools on the North Island outside of Auckland.
The National School Redevelopment Program (NSRP) has previously announced several multi-million dollar projects including Taita College in Lower Hutt, Northcote College in Auckland, Mt Aspiring College in Wanaka, Twizel Area School in Central Otago, and Spotswood College in Taranaki.
