Parents’ health worries grow as ministry pays for air tests to monitor risk of mould danger.
A leaky Auckland primary school says it was told nine months ago its 33-classroom rebuild plan would go to the Cabinet - but it is still waiting.
Balmoral School is one of 15 schools for which the Ministry of Education is paying for air testing to ensure children aren't beingaffected by mouldy classrooms.
And it is third in a month to raise questions over delays in getting new buildings.
Principal Malcolm Milner said Balmoral, a decile 9 primary with 870 pupils, had been working with the government on rebuilding plans after it discovered rot and mould in a classroom block in 2012 .
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Since then parents and the board had grown increasingly concerned about their children despite the ministry assuring them the air tests showed the school was safe.
"The board and is worried for particularly sensitive kids, those with allergies or asthma, where we know it could be bad," he said.
"We have been told it is safe but parents get worried. And we can't tell them why there's a hold up. It's extremely frustrating."
Of the schools in need of repairs and getting air quality tests, Balmoral is near the top of the priority scale - a four out of five - and the ministry says it is one of those that requires "significant development".
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The head of the ministry's education infrastructure service, Kim Shannon, said options for the school, and others, were being finalised.
But Mr Milner said they had been told that before.
The ministry said yesterday the plans were not with the Cabinet.
Mr Milner said in any case, it should be a ministerial decision, not a political one.
"These are children and it is the state's responsibility to ensure they are safe. If it's in the budget, then approve it. It should have been done by now."
Policy dictates that projects above $15million need ministerial sign off, and Cabinet deals with anything above $25m.
Green Party's education spokeswoman Catherine Delahunty agreed the responsibility was with the government and called the situation "unsatisfactory".
"If they can't deliver change within six months then the most important thing is to communicate that," she said." They need to talk to schools and principals and have a clear path of action - if they can't promise to fix the buildings that needs to be said up front."
The Herald has been working to find out how many other schools are also awaiting significant rebuilds where there are health and safety issues.
So far, only the list of schools where air testing is carried out has been released, showing there are six considered a "high priority" or deemed requiring remediation immediately.
Among those is Clayton Park school, which still does not have a rebuild date despite its walls being filled with toxic mould; and Koru School in Mangere, which had a $20.5 million rebuild approved earlier this year.
Western Springs, which has had a five-year battle for new classrooms, had buildings deemed priority two and four.
Northland College in Kaikohe, which was deemed an "urgent" case by officials three years ago, was not on the list.
Health experts say mould is a safety issue and should not be in schools.
Health Spokesperson for the Child Poverty Action group, Dr Nikki Turner said many people reacted to mould, particularly those with allergies or asthma. It could result in nasty coughs or infection, she said.
The government says it takes weathertightness issues seriously, and is currently assessing and addressing weathertightness issues at around 750 schools around the country. Many of these are tied up with the leaky buildings problems from the 1990s.
To date, the Ministry has spent around $360m on the weathertightness assessment and repair programme, which is expected to eventually cost up to $1.3billion.
It also has a programme focusing on specific schools that require major developments- a fund of $300 million over six years to assist approximately 30 schools.
Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye will discuss the issue with the Herald today (Friday).
