At least $4.4 million has been spent on the school, which opened last year, including a one-off payment of $129,000 toward remedying the ongoing issues.
It has been an expensive exercise - the trust has agreed to relinquish its land and buildings if it closes, which will help recoup some of the Government's failed investment.
Opponents of partnership schools will argue that the Whangaruru failure is an indictment of the failings of partnership schools - yet there are partnership schools succeeding. Te Kura Hourua O Whangarei Terenga Paraoa is doing good things for students who otherwise were not flourishing in mainstream schooling.
The irony of Whangaruru's failure is that some of its failure must be attributed to factors prevalent within mainstream Northland schools - poor governance and management.
Mainstream schools get commissioners - charter schools get shut down.
The Government needs to ask itself some hard questions around the governance and curriculum support it gave Te Pumanawa o te Wairua in reasonably uncharted waters.
The Government shouldn't just share the blame, it should shoulder it, in many people's view.
