After just one term in business Taihape Area School appears to be becoming bogged down in controversy and dissension.
That was made evident at a public meeting last week at which participants virtually passed a motion of no confidence in the school's Education Ministry-appointed establishment board.
Meeting chairman Danny Mickleson said the meeting was unanimous in supporting resolutions demanding that: a new board of trustees be elected as soon as possible; that the present establishment board moves immediately to locate the junior school on the Rauma Rd (Taihape College) site while the new school is being built in town; that mediation services be brought in to help resolve differences between the establishment board, teachers and other parties; that no tenders for construction of the new school be let until those issues had been resolved.
About 45 people attended the meeting understood to have been initiated by area school teachers concerned about safety issues and the disruption of teaching and learning if junior students were to remain on the town site during construction of the new school.
The motions passed were apparently framed by area school staff at a separate, special meeting held earlier.
Mr Mickleson said there was "no doubt" that those at the public meeting had lost confidence in the establishment board and, as indicated by the motions passed, were "fully supportive of the teaching professionals".
Taihape Area School deputy principal Eric Ramsteijn told the Chronicle that while there were deep concerns among staff over the decision to keep the junior department at Huia St during the construction of the new school, a walk-out of staff was not on agenda.
"Strike action would be a very last resort," he said.
Mr Ramsteijn said the taking of the series of resolutions to a public meeting had "not been done lightly" and only after intensive consultation with teacher unions - the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) and New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI).
He said having made their "professional concerns" public it was now a matter of following "due process" so that solutions could be achieved that satisfied the best interests of students, staff, the community and the establishment board.
Education Ministry-appointed Taihape Area School project manager Richard Thompson, said he was aware of "some issues" about the present two-site operation during the upcoming school construction phase.
He said the establishment board was in the process of looking at that decision and was still working through it.
"So it is important to wait until that process has been completed and it would be wrong (for anyone) to jump to conclusions," he said.
Mr Thompson rejected the suggestion that that board was not listening to the concerns people had.
"The board has put a lot of effort into consulting with a range of people to get the views of the wider community," he said.
The issues relating to how and where students could be accommodated during the construction period were "quite complex".
Establishing a new school was a big upheaval for any community but for Taihape there was the added complication of the two-site situation.
Mr Thompson said the end result would be "exciting" but getting to that point would require tolerance and patience. "The establishment board is faced with the practicalities of making it work so it needs to have room to do that," he said.
Establishment board spokesperson Charlene Benson said the decision to retain the two-site operation had been made only after extensive consultation and lengthy deliberations by the board.
The decision was driven by a number factors not least of which was the desire of the majority of parents to keep their youngsters at the old primary school site despite the potential for disruption while the new school was being built.
Mrs Benson said while there were numerous positives for having the area school on one site there were practical, financial and "many other considerations" that had to be taken account of.
She said the board was currently reviewing its two-site decision and that had already involved input from the area school's senior management team.
Turmoil at new Taihape school
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