A former Masterton woman who was a trailblazer in New Zealand education, being the first pupil ever elected to a school board, is hoping Makoura College can battle its way clear of problems and remain open.
Marilyn Schroder (nee Blake), of Dannevirke, was a seventh former in 1972 at Makoura, or Makora College, as it was then known, when she was elected as a parent's representative to the old Masterton Secondary Schools' Board.
The board was the governing body of Wairarapa College and Makora College and Marilyn's election made headlines throughout the country.
Since her tenure, the system has radically changed with student representatives sitting on school boards of trustees as a matter of course but in 1972 having a pupil elected to a board especially as a parent's representative broke new ground.
Mrs Schroder said she had spent only a year on the board as she had left school at the end of her seventh form year to train as a laboratory technician in Wellington.
She worked in New Plymouth and was charge technologist at Stratford Hospital.
Mrs Schroder said she has seen her fair share of hospital and laboratory closures.
"The whole community loses out, just as it does when schools close."
She is hoping it can survive.
The college board has dropped its previous recommendation to Education Minister Chris Carter to close the school that has long suffered from a falling roll, asking instead for the school to be kept open.
A commissioner is expected to be appointed by the ministry within a few days to take on the role of managing the school.
Mrs Schroder was a foundation pupil at Makora College and joined the Masterton Secondary Schools' Board during the tenure its first principal Noel Scott, who was later to enter Parliament as the Labour MP for Tongariro.
The school board was then under the chairmanship of Brian Blackwood, a Masterton solicitor who was to become a district court judge.
She remembers her first meeting under the glare of nationwide publicity as being " nerve-wracking".
Now the wife of doctor Martin Schroder, who specialises in helping those afflicted by alcohol and drug addiction, Mrs Schroder said she is saddened that New Zealand seems to lack the foresight to ensure services are kept going in the interests of keeping the whole country strong.
"It now all comes down to dollars and cents.
"We seem to forget the real reasons why our institutions such as schools and hospitals were established to cater for the students and the patients."
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