Children who are already enrolled at the school would be permitted to stay under the scheme.
Whangamata Area School principal Alistair Luke said the proposal is intended to be "future-proofing of the right of local students to protect their local school".
"If you don't control your roll ... you essentially do end up with overcrowding, so you end up with more students in classrooms than is desirable.
"There are cases in other parts of the country ... where you've got students learning out of spaces that aren't designed as classrooms. Worst-case scenario, staff rooms being used as classrooms and things like it.
"It's [the proposal] a mitigation at local level."
He said creating a zoned boundary would mean "if there was a situation at any point" where the school had more students within the zone than they could accommodate, they could apply for more resources from the ministry.
He and the school's board of trustees had been involved in developing the proposed zone, and he said they were "happy with the zone boundaries as drafted".
"It's a draft zone that I wouldn't think would cause any surprises or would look in anyway illogical to anyone.
"At this point, [the proposed boundary] would encompass some 99 per cent of the students who are currently at the school ... the zoned boundaries are essentially our natural catchment."
He said the school had "grown significantly" in the last five years, and its current roll was around 520 students.
"We do have capacity for slightly more than that, but it [the proposal] is essentially a future-proofing exercise."
A local mother with two children who attend the school told the HC Post she was confused by the proposal.
"I find it hard to understand how they are going to do that considering it's the only school here.
"It's not a very big area, so zoning the school doesn't make sense. It would have to be a very small zoned area."
She said the school currently had students from Tairua who attended due to a lack of other nearby options.
Tracey Turner, director of the office of the deputy secretary at the Ministry of Education, told the HC Post the Whangamata Area School is currently at above 85 per cent of its capacity.
She said this meant it faced "potential overcrowding" and qualified for an enrolment scheme.
She said an enrolment scheme would "ensure sufficient spaces are available for local students".
"If the school board determines there is space for more students outside the home zones, the scheme would also ensure selection for these spaces is carried out in a fair and transparent manner via a ballot process."
The ministry will be holding a consultation meeting with the public on Thursday, June 9 at 5.15pm in the school's library.
Comments and feedback about the scheme should be sent to Waikato.EnrolmentSchemes@education.govt.nz before June 17.
Proposed Zone Boundaries
According to the Ministry of Education's proposal, the potential home zones for the Whangamata Area School would have the following boundaries:
For Year 1-8 Students:
Starting on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula immediately north and west of Bambury Place, Opoutere, the zone extends south, following the coast to the southern end of Mataora Bay, south of Whiritoa.
From the southern end of Mataora Bay the zone extends west to cross Whangamata Rd (SH25) north of (ie. not including) 1158 Whangamata Rd (SH25). From this point the boundary extends west and then north to follow the Coromandel Range northward (ie. excluding Golden Cross Rd, Maratoto Rd and Otamakite Rd but including Parakiwai Quarry Rd and Wentworth Quarry Rd) to the Parihaka Stream.
The zone boundary follows the Parihaka Stream to the point where it meets the Wharekawa River. From this point the boundary extends east to cross Tairua Rd (SH25) north of (ie. including) Julian Rd and Toko Rd, at the intersection of Tairua Rd (SH25) and Whitipirorua Rd.
The boundary extends east along Whitipirorua Rd, includes Tuna Place, and follows Bambury Place to the coast, where the zone began.
For Year 9-13 Students:
In the north the zone begins at 433 Main Rd (SH25), Tairua (which is included), and
extends east to include all addresses on Ocean Beach Rd (but not Pumpkin Hill
Rd addresses to the north).
From the northernmost point of addresses on Ocean Beach Rd the boundary
extends east to the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. From this point the
zone extends south down the coast to the southern end of Mataora Bay, south of
Whiritoa.
From the southern end of Mataora Bay the zone extends west to cross Whangamata
Rd (SH25) north of (i.e not including) 1158 Whangamata Rd (SH25). From this
point the boundary extends west and then north to follow the Coromandel Range
northward (ie. excluding Golden Cross Rd, Maratoto Rd and Otamakite Rd but including Parakiwai Quarry Rd and Wentworth Quarry Rd) to the Tairua River.
The zone boundary follows the Tairua River, past where it is crossed by Kopu-Hikuai
Rd (Puketui Rd is not included in the zone, but Kitahi Rd, Spur Rd and
Puketui Valley Rd are included).
The boundary follows the Tairua River to the Broken Hills Dam DoC campsite, and
from here extends through the Coromandel Range west and north (excluding Kauaeranga Valley Rd) before heading northeast (including Laycock Rd and not Paul Rd) to 433 Main Rd (SH25), Tairua, where the zone began.
Note: Both sides of all streets and roads included in the above description are included unless otherwise stated.
