$19.5m rebuild for Northcote's Onepoto Primary School to cope with big housing project

A Northcote primary school will be completely rebuilt to cope with extra students expected from an intensive housing development.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins visited Onepoto Primary School today to announce a $19.5 million rebuild, funded out of $332m in the recent Budget for new school buildings nationwide.

Northcote College is also expected to get some of the Budget funding.

Onepoto School, the North Shore's only decile 1 school, has struggled to stay afloat in recent years as its roll dwindled from 127 in 2000 to just 71 this year.

But it is expected to be transformed with a Housing NZ-led project to replace 300 nearby state houses with between 1000 and 1200 new homes, including 400 Housing NZ rentals and between 600 and 800 private homes for sale.

Construction of the new housing is already under way and Housing NZ subsidiary Hobsonville Land Company has chosen builders to build the private homes over the next five years.

Hipkins said the rebuild would allow Onepoto School's roll to grow to 350, and more buildings over the next 10 years will take the roll to 950.

Construction would start in about 18 months.

"Onepoto Primary is rundown in parts and battling with reduced maintenance funding. Teaching and learning is taking place in classrooms that are in poor condition," he said.

"Onepoto Primary can now plan for the future and be in a position to serve as an important hub in the rapidly growing local community.

"Further announcements will be made about investments in school property under Budget 2018 in the coming weeks."

Meanwhile Hipkins and Auckland Catholic Bishop Patrick Dunn are still in discussions about the future of Northcote's Hato Petera College, where the roll has fallen to one student. Submissions to the Catholic Church closed on May 14.

The Northcote electorate goes to the ballot box on June 9, as Labour's Shanan Halbert and National's Dan Bidois vie to replace retiring MP Jonathan Coleman. Northcote byelection