Budget 2023: $12.6m for South Taranaki’s Te Paepae o Aotea

Te Paepae o Aotea principal Rachel Williams says the recent budget announcement is positive news for the school. Photo / Alyssa Smith

A South Taranaki school has received a cash boost in this year’s Budget.

Hāwera’s Te Paepae o Aotea, which opened in February this year, will receive $12.6 million in funding towards a planned rebuild of the school.

Principal Rachel Williams says school staff were surprised by the news, which was announced by the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson on Budget Day.

While Te Paepae o Aotea opened to students at the start of the 2023 school year, the school itself was the result of years of consultation with the community and followed the closure of both Hāwera Intermediate and Hāwera High School.

The merger of those two schools meant a school roll of over 1000 at Te Paepae o Aotea when it opened this year. Located mainly on the former Hāwera High School site on Camberwell Road, the large increase in roll meant some lessons are being taught in temporary pre-fab buildings in Bayly Park, says Rachel.

She says the building work will be completed in stages.

“We’ve been looking to continue our building work for some time but we’ve waited for guidance from the Ministry of Education. The news of the funds is positive as it confirms we’re getting closer to the next step in the process.”

The school is currently waiting to hear from the Ministry of Education regarding exactly what happens next now the money has been allocated.

“There’s a whole planning process, consulting the community and then moving forward. At the moment we’re waiting for more guidance to learn about how this money will be used to benefit our students and when we can start the planning process.”

She says keeping the school community updated will always be part of the process.

“Once we know more, we look forward to being able to communicate with the public.”