[ad_1]
The Education Ministry apologized to a Christchurch kura kaupapa for providing “inconsistent and inaccurate” information about its previously planned reconstruction.
The leaders of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori or te Whānau Tahi spoke out last week in frustration after being told that rebuilding their leaky and moldy school would no longer go ahead after waiting 11 years for a solution.
Stuff He saw documents showing the ministry had settled on preferred reconstruction plans in March, which school leaders say were taken off the table in June because the ministry said it “had no money” after Covid-19.
The ministry’s head of infrastructure, Kim Shannon, confirmed that the ministry had apologized to the kura for its “inconsistent and inaccurate communication about its property issues, and the frustrations and uncertainty it caused.”
READ MORE:
* Christchurch kura kaupapa gave a ‘horrible’ hand in an 11-year battle with the ministry
* ‘Fears’ About Maori Immersion Schools Are Unfounded
* The smells of the mushroom farm force to rethink the location of kura kaupapa
The kura hopes that will mean less conversation and more action when he meets with the ministry to discuss his plans next week.
STACY SQUIRES / Stuff
Te Kura Kaupapa or te Whānau Tahi has been waiting 11 years to replace their leaky and moldy buildings.
“Covid-19 has had no impact on either the availability or the amount of property funds available to schools, including Kura Kaupapa or te Whānau Tahi,” Shannon said.
“They were given the wrong information for which we have apologized.”
The ministry had reiterated that all options were still on the table, including repairing existing buildings, rebuilding the existing Spreydon site, or possible relocation to a new site.
In the meantime, he would support the kura with property problems, he said.
La kura was identified as a leaky school in 2009, before the city’s earthquakes, but repairs were suspended and given a lower priority than conventional schools, kura leaders said previously.
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors Anton Matthews said when he pressured the ministry to present the minutes of the March and June meetings, he found that “there are no minutes.”
STACY SQUIRES / Stuff
Te Kura Kaupapa or te Whānau Tahi’s board vice chairman Anton Matthews hopes the school will finally get answers from the ministry at a meeting next week. Pictured, right, with tumuaki (lead) Mark Rangi.
An email sent between officials in the days after the June meeting showed that the kura had been told that the reconstruction was canceled due to Covid-related budget restrictions, he said.
The apology from the ministry “was quite big for us.”
“We feel vindicated and grateful that they recognized that they had dropped the ball.
“For a time, the implication was that, at worst, we were lying, or that we were too stupid to interpret what was discussed. But we knew what we heard, ”said Matthews.
The kura was eager to get some proper answers at a meeting with the ministry next week.
“We hope that means a rebuilding.”
