Familiar face to help college recover

Wairarapa College is in the bad books in more ways than one.

Newly appointed commissioner John Carlyon felt something tug at his heartstrings when he stepped onto the Wairarapa College campus for the first time in 27 years last week.

The former principal of the Masterton school was back to cast his eye over a property he is now charged with managing and getting back on the road, having been made commissioner replacing the Board of Trustees dissolved by order of education minister Hekia Parata.

"It was a strange feeling being back on my old stamping ground, but I have been asked to support the school and that's what I want to do," he said.

I walked in and there was a flood of memories from my days as a young worker and of how much I had enjoyed my time there.

John Carlyon

Mr Carlyon's main task will be helping to sort out a financial mire the school has found itself in, a task he described as likely to take "more than a little while" to work through.

"I have a welter of material to look into," he said.

His appointment will not mean the end of the role played by Michael Rondel as a limited statutory manager.

"I will not be replacing him, Michael will be contracted to continue working with me," Mr Carlyon said.

Mr Rondel would be his right-hand man on the financial situation allowing Mr Carlyon time to sort out other areas of concern.

He said the Ministry of Education's interest in appointing a commissioner for Wairarapa College was triggered by the school's financial dilemma but spilled over into areas such as the curriculum and student welfare.

The feeling of deja vu Mr Carlyon experienced when visiting the school last week was enhanced when he discovered two of the teachers he hired during his six year stint as principal back in the 1980s were still at the college.

"I walked in and there was a flood of memories from my days as a young worker and of how much I had enjoyed my time there." he said.

Mr Carlyon said in this age of "electronic miracles" he will be able to do some of his Wairarapa College work from his home on the outskirts of Rotorua.

"But there is no substitute for face-to-face encounters so I will be down again in mid January to talk to the school principal and others including Michael Rondel

"In the next few months I will be spending quite a bit of time at the school, that's for sure and I hope to meet with all the teachers to find out how they see the future unfolding".

Mr Carlyon said it had taken quite a while for the college to get into "the fix it is in and it is going to take a while to get out of it."

"I will be doing everything I can for the school so it can go forward on a highly positive trajectory," he said.

"The absence of money and how any money is spent needs to be looked at," he said.

Mr Carlyon said as strange as it may sound the ambition of a commissioner is to be evicted from the job as soon as improvements make that possible.