By ANNE BESTON
A plan to merge the troubled Maori boys' school St Stephen's and Queen Victoria School for girls has moved a step closer after a meeting at the weekend.
Trustees of St Stephen's School for boys in Bombay, which is under threat of closure amid allegations of bullying, and Queen Victoria School in Parnell, met Ministry of Education officials and parent representatives at the weekend to discuss a feasibility study into forming one co-ed school.
The study found a merger was the best option. It was to be released publicly but the joint board of trustees chairman, Pita Cherrington, said that was still undecided.
"It was our intent but obviously there are things there that people may not want divulged," he said.
A fellow board member, Canon Hone Kaa, said a meeting with Education Minister Trevor Mallard had been organised for next month to discuss the proposed merger, along with other issues.
Asked if he was worried about putting male and female students in the one school in light of recent problems at St Stephen's, Canon Kaa said talk of bullying was "emotive language."
"One of the factors we are taking into consideration is that girls will have a mitigating effect on boys' behaviour," he said.
"And we are also looking at a far more positive thing which is that the girls will actually spur the boys competitively in the educational round, because the girls have done better than the boys academically."
Canon Kaa said he was well aware of the troubles at St Stephen's but parents at yesterday's meeting wanted to "walk away from where the despair is at the moment.
"When you are down at the bottom of the hill there's only one way to go and that's back up," he said.
"We've got to that point where we have to be proactive and offer our kids a better chance."
The latest allegations of bullying at St Stephen's, when a 14-year-old pupil was attacked by a senior student, followed the suspension of 23 senior students in February for beating junior boys in an initiation game.
Last week, Maori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels called for the school to close because of its violent reputation Canon Kaa said all the issues would be discussed with Mr Mallard, including whether the two schools moved to an entirely new site or made use of one of the existing sites. Falling rolls and financial problems at the two schools prompted the feasibility study, compiled by the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
A Government valuation assessed Queen Victoria School, which is nestled on prime real estate, at a conservative $25 million, while St Stephen's is valued at around $2 million, with a $6 million farm asset.
Brian Smith, secretary of the joint trust board, said rolls had been falling at both schools for several years. Economic changes were partly responsible for Maori parents no longer being able to afford to send their children to boarding school.
Better transport also meant children could attend schools closer to home.
Maori schools merger 'best way'
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