Money wasted in experiment says principal

Principal Pat Newman said the government funding poured into a Northland charter school which now faces closure could have provided 250-plus students a fulltime mentor for every school day of the year. Photo / Tania Whyte

The nearly $5 million spent on a Northland charter school could have provided more than 260,000 hours of mentoring for students in Northland, a Northland principal says.

The comment comes after the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, announced she has proposed to terminate the agreement under which the Nga Parirau Matauranga Charitable Trust runs the Te Pumanawa o te Wairua charter school, near Whangaruru.

Ms Parata, who met with the board on Tuesday, gave the school until January 15 to provide her with a reason the contract should not be cancelled. If the school does close, the ministry will seek to recover any unused funding or available assets, including the 81ha taxpayer-purchased farmland the school sits on, through a commercial negotiation process.

I am saddened that at the end of the day the kids have been subject to a political experiment which has failed.

Pat Newman, Northland principal

Chairwoman of the charter school's board, Dee-Ann Brown, said they intended to provide a response to the minister's proposal in "due course".

"We have received the minister's decision with regret. Whatever action we take will be in the best interests of our students and their whanau."

Pat Newman, Northland principal and president of the Te Tai Tokerau Principal Association, said the $4.8 million in government funding poured into the school, which has about 40 students, was a waste of money.

"I am saddened that at the end of the day the kids have been subject to a political experiment which has failed.

"I worked out that the money given to the school could have funded about 260,000 hours for mentoring or for specialist help. For 250 kids that's a fulltime mentor every school day for the year," he said.

Ms Parata said even with the resources and support provided to the school the gains in education outcomes were unlikely to be significant and future prospects were equally small, which she said was "ultimately" what partnership schools are about.

Mr Newman argued if the amount of government funding per head which was put into the Whangaruru school was put into other Northland schools they would be better equipped to ensure kids were not being failed in mainstream education.

"You have teachers screaming out 'give us help, give us resources'.

"It's a huge struggle for teachers up here to get the same kind of support," he said.

Ms Parata listed poor student achievement and inadequate curriculum leadership as reasons behind her proposal to terminate the agreement. She said her decision was not a reflection on the current board.

Mr Newman said at the end of the day the ultimate victims were the students who attended the school.