Ms Tu Huia said if these issues were to be addressed properly then the race card should not be played as people "will lose the ability to actually make a community that matters.
"Those [the school issues] are the main issues - not those about Maori-Pakeha racial tension.
"I don't believe that it ever was about that, but I think it has been framed up like that to take away from what really matters.
"Which is about communities being able to develop their schools and to develop the needs for their community without the interference of parliament who basically doesn't understand the communities they are meant to serve."
Labour Tukituki spokeswoman Anna Lorck said the children should be put first in the decision-making process.
"It appears to me that these decisions are not being made in the best interests of the children," she said.
"The children have become the meat in the sandwich, the school has become the meat in the sandwich, they have been squashed in the middle and it's not their fault."
Ms Lorck said it was critical to consult with all the communities before such a decision was made.
"So to shut the community out of consultation is just wrong.
"Using the excuse that this is the relocation is not a reason not to consult people.
"This is a multi-million dollar new school coming into a community where everybody has an interest. It is a huge opportunity for a fabulous new school."
She said other possible alternative sites should be put on the table to be discussed publicly.
Education Minister Hekia Parata said she had nothing further to add to the debate.
"I met with a representative group on Friday, September 25, to hear their concerns," she said.
"I have nothing further to add to what I've already said, and if the community has any specific concerns they should direct them to the Ministry of Education."
Despite this, Ms Lorck said if the community wanted to get together and come up with a alternative that put the children first and had a buy-in of all communities, then they shouldn't give up.