Zoning war looms among schools

A ZONE war is brewing between schools now staking their claims on the streets of Masterton.
Douglas Park School has applied to the Ministry of Education for a zone-based enrolment scheme based on its rising roll, but both Masterton Primary and Fernridge schools have objected to the zone's proposed boundaries.
The suggested boundary runs the length of State Highway 2 from South Belt to the Waipoua River, effectively dividing the town east to west.
This has drawn criticism from Masterton Primary School principal Sue Walters, who says the border should be Cornwall Street, which is halfway between the schools.
Ms Walters says the area between Cornwall and Fleet streets is part of the catchment area of Masterton Primary, but that Douglas Park was claiming it because it was once part of the Cornwall Street School catchment.
Douglas Park principal Dick Brown said there were "quite a number of folk who live in that area who have allegiances to Douglas Park School" and they were engaged "in a process to establish a boundary that would be fair to both schools".
Mr Brown said the area in question had once been the catchment for six schools: Central School and Harley Street, which merged to become MPS; Cornwall Street and West School, which merged to become Douglas Park; and Solway School and Fernridge School, which both now have zones excluding the area.
Mr Brown said Douglas Park also attracted families from the east side of High Street, which would not happen under a new zone.
If zoning were introduced, current students, and their families, would be able to continue going to the school even if they lived outside the zone.
Mr Brown said Douglas Park was in negotiations with another school about a zoning boundary.
The proposed western boundary extends to Kibblewhite Road, overlapping the current Fernridge School zone that borders Ngaumutawa Road.
Daniel Melville, principal of Fernridge School, said the school board had objected to the proposed boundaries.
Mr Melville said the board felt "if the ministry was going to reduce the school's zone" they should talk with the school directly, and not through another school.
The Kibblewhite Road boundary was closer in distance to Fernridge School than to Douglas Park, Mr Melville said.
Mr Melville said if zoning went ahead, every primary school on the west side of Masterton would be zoned, leaving only Lakeview and Masterton Primary, "which is a little bit strange".
The Ministry of Education's senior media advisor, Vince Cholewa, said for any zoning application, "we would always want there to be as much consensus as possible with the schools involved".
Since the school mergers in 2004, Douglas Park's roll has grown from 315 to 360 students.
In the same period Masterton Primary School's roll dropped from 398 to 285.
Ms Walters said for two years the school had been a "construction site", with orange tape marking where kids could and could not walk, but the school had new buildings now and the roll had grown since the start of the year, when she began as principal.
In the same period, Lakeview School had grown from 485 to about 500.
For the town boundary schools, Solway School grew from 198 to 205, Fernridge dropped from 184 to 163, and Opaki grew from 149 to 164, according to July roll figures supplied by the Ministry of Education.