Ministry moves in to help primary

Tikipunga Primary School (above) has had a limited statutory manager appointed after its roll dropped dramatically. Photo / File

Tikipunga Primary School requested the help of the Ministry of Education after a large roll drop forced them to "redeploy" four teachers.

Board of Trustees chair Graeme Bratty said they requested intervention by the ministry after a series of challenging employment issues, including the principal resigning.

"We had some issues last year that we were struggling to deal with," Mr Bratty said. "We had a low roll which meant we had to reduce some teacher numbers."

Limited Statutory Manager Chris Saunders was appointed on December 18.

"It's a big help because we're dealing with things that are employment-related things which can be quite complex," Mr Bratty said.

Former principal Donna Donnelly resigned at the end of term two and moved to Karamea Area school near Westport.

Ministry of Education figures show while the roll sat at 274 students in July 2008, it had dropped to 171 by the same time last year. Mr Bratty estimated the school started this year with about 150 students. As a result of the roll decline, the amount of funding the school received also decreased.

"Our funding dropped by four teachers so we had to go through a selection process," Mr Bratty said.

While he made it clear the four teachers, who had previously been on permanent contracts, were not made redundant they had been "redeployed" which meant their future at the school was uncertain. While one had moved to a job at a different school, the remaining three had 30 months where they could either find alternative jobs or hope the school's roll increased in order for them to stay.

"It's not an easy process to go through," Mr Bratty said. "It's quite difficult."

It was unclear what the roll drop could be attributed to though may be linked to the high rate of transient students in Northland, he said.

While Margaret Martin took on the acting principal role for the remainder of 2014, Cherise Wilson was appointed principal starting this year.

"We believe we've chosen a great leader for the school and we've got some brilliant children," Mr Bratty said.

Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said she was aware the roll had fallen.

"It is not unusual for school rolls to fluctuate, in some cases quite a lot, particularly at schools in more rural areas of Northland," Ms Casey said.

"The school has experienced some challenges particularly in recent years."