Hita said after meeting with the Ministry of Education last week, it was decided to keep the senior school closed until further notice.
"We are exploring a number of alternative learning options for our NCEA students as it is our goal to have all of our Year 11-13 students back here as a part of the Abundant Life School whānau as soon as possible," she said.
"We will be providing regular updates to all whānau with regards to recruitment, learning opportunities, enrolment and the like, so we are all on the same page.
"I want to emphasise the Board remains fully committed to resolving the senior level gap as quickly as possible ... We have full faith in the Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth, that He will accomplish His perfect will in this place we call home."
According to the email, any student who opted to enrol in another school was welcome to return to Abundant Life School once adequate teacher numbers had been achieved.
An anonymous parent said he was disappointed with what he believed was a lack of leadership demonstrated by the principal, which had had a profound impact on the families of the school.
The parent said his whānau, like so many others, were forced to split their children among other local schools due to the closure.
"I feel really sad for the beautiful group of teachers who have invested so many years into the school and who have remained there for the sake of our children," the parent said.
"Some families have been there for four generations and they're really hurting.
"People feel like the church/proprietors are burning the school down all for the sake of their pro-choice, anti-vaccine mandate cause.
"This is not a faith issue, it's a health issue."
It's not the first time the school has been shrouded in controversy, following principal Mark Tan's pro-choice comments regarding the Covid-19 vaccine on national television last year.
According to an Abundant Life School teacher, Tan and other senior management had allegedly been openly critical of the Government and vaccine, with some allegedly going so far as to tell students it was poisonous.
The Northland Age has sighted several letters of complaint addressed to the Board of Trustees and the Ministry of Education regarding the above concerns, yet according to the teacher, no action was allegedly taken by either.
Shortly before the vaccine mandate kicked in, Tan was approved a year's paid sabbatical and has been on official leave since December.
The teacher added they were also alarmed to learn about an invite allegedly sent to only a select few Year 10-13 students regarding a new online learning platform.
The invite, also sighted by the Northland Age, appears to be sent by the Abundant Life Church, inviting the selected few students to participate in its new "Kingdom Training Academy".
The Kingdom Training Academy option was not listed in the official email out to all parents, which the teacher said would indicate preparation for the programme had been under way for some time.
The teacher alleges the church's agenda had come in the way of the senior school reopening and felt it was time the wider community knew what was going on behind the scenes.
"The church is a registered charitable trust which is meant to serve the community and offer a duty of care to all students/whānau in partnership with the school," they said.
"We [teachers] have been completely left in the dark about all the changes, to the point where people have had no idea when they were meant to resume work, what their timetable was or who they were supposed to be teaching.
"Now it's clear that's because the school was not intending to reopen the senior school, so now some teachers are wondering whether they will even have a job to return to.
"In my opinion, they've let their own political agenda become more important and in turn forgotten about the children and why they're there, it's terrible."
The Northland Age contacted the Ministry of Education regarding the closure of the senior school, the complaints made against the school and for more information regarding the alleged new Kingdom Training Academy.
Ministry of Education Te Tai Raro (North) Hautū (leader) Isabel Evans said the ministry would continue to work with the school as necessary.
"Schools are required to have a formal complaints process in place, and it is appropriate for the school board to address complaints in the first instance," Evans said.
"We have not received any complaints related to comments from teachers to students about the vaccine.
"We are aware that some parents in the region are concerned about disruption to learning for their children due to the impact of Covid-19, and are working closely with all schools in the region to help them manage these situations."
Evans confirmed the ministry met with a delegation of the Abundant Life School Board of Trustees on Wednesday, February 2, to discuss a range of options to support the operation of the school.
She said employment matters, including the impact of the vaccine mandate, were between the board, as the employer, and its staff.
"The board have told us they are in the process of recruiting to fill their vacancies," Evans said.
"The NZ School Trustees Association is also available to school boards to provide advice and support on governance matters if needed.
"We will always respond when concerns are raised with us directly and work with the school as necessary, which we are doing in this case."
Abundant Life School Board chairwoman Karena Hita was approached numerous times for comment but did not respond in time for the edition.
The Northland Age has submitted an Official Information Act request to the Ministry of Education for more information regarding this matter.
