'Frustrations are running high' as Tauranga schools await new classrooms

A truck transporting a modular classroom from the Huntly factory. Photo / Ministry of Education

Frustration is "running high" for Tauranga schools waiting on the arrival of modular classrooms to help ease roll-growth pressure.

But the Education Ministry says it is working with Tauranga City Council to "minimise the impact" of "timeframe issues" associated with the building consent process.

Mount Maunganui Intermediate. Photo / George Novak

Mount Maunganui Intermediate principal Melissa Nelson said the school was waiting on two new modular classrooms. They were initially told the learning spaces would be on-site for term four last year.

She understood the classrooms had been awaiting the process of building consent since September.

"It has taken a very long time and frustrations are running high at our end, given that the modulars themselves have been manufactured and are ready for transportation from the factory in Huntly, when the consent is issued."

Some students were learning in temporary classrooms on the school field which was not ideal, she said.

This was because they were smaller than other classrooms, did not have running water and airflow was a challenge due to the position of windows and doors.

She said they were not yet in the position where they needed to use the school library as a learning space.

The ministry's website said the factory-manufactured buildings provided more space for schools and helped with a range of issues such as roll growth and building replacement.

It said they were built to the same standard as permanent school buildings and suitable as long-term space solutions.

Tauranga Intermediate principal Cameron Mitchell. Photo / Supplied

Tauranga Intermediate principal Cameron Mitchell said there had been "massive delays" in securing eight modular classrooms initially expected to arrive in September last year.

He said the delays were "extremely frustrating" for staff.

Four temporary classrooms and a teacher workroom converted into a learning space were being used to facilitate students while they waited for permanent buildings to arrive.

"We are making the best of a not ideal situation to ensure learning and teaching isn't compromised."

Mitchell did not know when the permanent structures would arrive but hoped it would be by early next term.

Tauriko School principal Suzanne Billington. Photo / George Novak

Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington said crowded schools affected the learning of a "considerable number" of young people.

Modular classroom delays could result in schools becoming "short of learning spaces", forcing students into other free areas such as libraries, gyms and halls to learn.

This put considerable pressure on schools as these shared spaces were then not able to be used by other students, she said.

It also meant some students were learning in temporary classrooms that were often not of a great standard, she said.

Billington, who was also the principal at Tauriko School, believed these situations placed limitations on children's learning.

"With an impact on so many, I would suggest a significant effort needs to be made to solve this issue for schools," she said.

Meanwhile, Mount Maunganui College principal Alastair Sinton said five modular classrooms that became ready for use this month had taken a "lot of pressure" off the school's classroom network.

He said there was a "significant delay" between the classroom delivery and the contractor's ability to start work.

"They are now open and functioning really well."

While the transportable buildings were "considered temporary", Sinton said the school was "treating them as permanent for now".

Each could hold between 20 and 30 students.

Ministry of Education property delivery associate deputy secretary Sam Fowler understood the frustration felt by both Tauranga and Mount Maunganui Intermediate as they awaited consent.

Senior leaders from the ministry and Tauranga City Council met in January to discuss and address "consenting timeframe issues affecting school property projects in Tauranga", Fowler said.

The ministry continued to work with the council on ways to "unblock issues" and "minimise the impact of consenting processes".

Fifty-two modular classrooms had been delivered as part of the programme in Tauranga, with a further 17 being delivered and 16 in the planning phase.

Tauranga City Council building services manager Steve Pearce said on average consents were taking roughly 10 days longer than normal, as it was experiencing "high volumes and further delays as a result of Covid".

Applicants and designers could help speed up the process by ensuring full responses to council queries were sent through "as quickly as possible", Pearce said.

He said the council had been working with the design team for the classrooms at Mount Maunganui Intermediate for "some time now".

He said a "challenging aspect" of some consents for the Ministry of Education - including Mount Maunganui Intermediate - was that they proposed use of a "relatively new technology for the foundations rather than a more common timber or concrete foundation".

"As the ground in Mount Maunganui is largely sand, we have requested information about how these new foundations will perform and we are still awaiting that information."