Opinion: Zoning hard issue to tackle

This week Otonga Rd Primary School's zone was officially put into place.

Correct me if I'm wrong but picking the school your children will attend is a relatively important decision for parents.

That's why I can understand the despair some parents must feel when they are told their first choice of school is not an option because their home address falls outside the zone.

This week Otonga Rd Primary School's zone was officially put into place. The school is now at full capacity and is expected to be around 40 students over capacity by the end of the year.

Principal Linda Woon said having to zone the school was awful but necessary. She said the decision had caused tension and anxiety among out-of-zone parents who did not know whether their other children would be able to go to the same school as their siblings.

Otonga is just the latest school - not just in Rotorua but nationwide - to implement a zone. While it is sadly a reality of the times, it doesn't make it any easier for those families who feel like their choices are now more limited.

My parents started looking for a new house just as I was about to go to high school in Auckland. I remember them turning down a lovely home purely on the basis the only in-zone school was not a particularly desirable one.

Ten years ago it was still relatively easy to get your child into the school you desired - whether because a particular school had a better art programme or had values in line with the family's values.

But now it's a completely different situation. In today's climate neither I nor my sister would have been accepted into the school we went to because our then address is now out of zone.

Zoning is a hard issue to tackle. Schools should only be expected to operate at or below their full capacity - never above it - so we can't condemn schools that are only doing what is in the best interest of its teachers and current students.

While I don't have the magic solution to solve the issue of zoning, in my view the Government needs to look at a way to ensure no matter what school a child goes to, they are afforded the same opportunities and learning environments.

When that is solved I think we will see fewer families looking for alternatives to their local school.