I SHOULDN'T really do the Scrooge at Christmas kind of thing, but there was something out of kilter in the closure of Mangamaire Country School last week.
On the face of it, the reason is unarguable. If your roll is falling, then a school loses its basis for existence. I have seen smaller schools continue - there's one near Karori in Wellington that sometimes has only eight kids. However, it is easy to realise that at the end of the year, when the seniors depart, there aren't going to be any new families to replace them. This has certainly been the case with Mangamaire. Other small schools in Wairarapa probably do a similar count on what their pupil number is likely to be, based on knowing their community and who is approaching school age. Historically, there were many more schools in Wairarapa, who have since had their time.
One can also give an acknowledgement to Mangamaire for not kicking up a fuss; entirely the opposite. The upcoming closure was not publicised, not fought. If this had been a school in Christchurch the furore would have reached the minister. Sometimes a closure is starkly inevitable.
What seems a shame, and appeared odd, was that it was clearly a well-appointed and well-resourced school. This may speak to the efforts of a vigorous community who were proud of their school and wanted to ensure their "country kids" didn't miss out. It might speak to the attention of a ministry to ensure our country schools are well-equipped. There might have been a government policy about country schools. But considering the school's roll was falling, and it's now being closed, it seems a little mis-directed - especially if it was largesse from the government.
God knows all our schools need help and funding. They could soak up money like sponges and it would all be for a good reason. It is right that pupils, in that given moment, had some exemplars of education in their country school. It just seems a lot of excellent fit-out has gone to waste. There are schools in Wairarapa that can just afford the basic maintenance. Mangamaire School doesn't have to apologise for its success in its fittings. Perhaps it means, as a school community, we need to find reasons not to apologise for our success either.
