Kaitoke School’s new 72-seater bus ‘amazing’

Michael Stratford (bus driver), Sasha Polmaa (parent representative and community liaison person on Kaitoke School Board) and Vanessa Duncan (principal) with Kaitoke School students.

Kaitoke School’s new bus has been a work in progress for at least six years and is described by principal Vanessa Duncan as being “amazing”.

“It’s possibly the biggest rural school bus in the Whanganui district, with 72 seats,” she said. “The board prior to the present one started the fundraising around six years ago. We’ve had amazing support from our school community, which has fundraised relentlessly towards getting a new bus, and the wider community with many who are incredibly generous,” she said.

The Government doesn’t give funding towards school-owned buses, which are bought through fundraising and donations. “We’ve been very lucky, we feel very privileged to have it and have a wonderful and safe way to get our students to and from school every day,” said Duncan.

Michael Stratford has been driving the school buses for Kaitoke School since 2008, and his previous bus was a 54-seater. “There were good reactions from the students when they got on the new bus, remarking how new it is. There have been lots of comments from the public about how nice it looks — with signwriting completed a week ago.

“Not many schools would have a bus of this calibre, with modern safety features and fitted with security cameras,” said Stratford. “It has a good engine and is good to drive, with a six-speed automatic,” he said.

Apart from collecting students to go to school, sometimes students are picked up from surrounding schools who join in sports and activities as part of the cluster.

Sasha Poldmaa is the parent representative and community liaison person on the Kaitoke School Board. She was in charge of carrying out the research and organising communications between the bus builder, Coachwork Central Ltd, and the sponsors.

“There was a strong push in the last 12 months for donations and fundraising,” she said. “The old bus was nearly 30 years old, it was costing lots of money to maintain. So we decided to go for a brand-new one.

“We are hoping for another 30 years of use from the new one. We went for the ‘truck/bus’ model, where the cab is separate from the cabin — this was a cheaper option, mainly for maintenance. It’s easier to service than a bus, where specialised mechanics are harder to find.

“Fundraising events were held at the school, selling food items, calendars, chocolates, pies and having school galas. It was a huge push, we were seeking large donations. It has been a crazy 12 months, it’s amazing that we’ve done it,” she said.

Vulcan Steel in Palmerston North donated all the steel and aluminium to build the bus. Elite Mechanical & Engineering Services in Whanganui came up with a $10,000 donation “out of the blue”.

Plumber Dan, On Track Earthmoving Ltd, Whanganui Towing, Paul Gilligan and Vicky Todd of Property Brokers, New World Whanganui and Rob and Ange Coley were also major sponsors for the new bus.

Edmonds Painting, Victoria Nails, Ali Arc, M & D Construction, Whanganui Towing and David Brown Building are sponsors supporting the running costs of the new bus. The school welcomes anyone else who would like to sponsor, by contacting the school.

“People in town choose to send their children up to Year 8 to Kaitoke School as it provides a pick-up service for a small fee, with students being collected from designated stops every day,” said Poldmaa.“ The school has a roll of 111 students, with five teachers.

A Givealittle page was started with people giving $5-$100. “But every little bit helped,” said Duncan. “We are so grateful to every person who has donated.

Recently, there was a Ride the Bus evening with everyone in the community being invited to come and have a ride.

“We can take our kids down to Palmerston North to Te Manawa Museum or out to the pools or down to Wellington to the zoo, without having to book a bus. It is a safe option for our children to ride on,” said Duncan.

Second-oldest school

Kaitoke School is the second-oldest school in Whanganui, established in 1863. It was a one-room school with a thatched roof, toetoe sides, fastened with flax and an earthen floor on the side of the hill.

The second school site was on the corner of Highway and Morgans Rd, closing in 1885. The third school started in 1899 as a private school at “Milburn,” becoming a public school again in 1893. A fourth school was built in 1899 for 28 pupils.

In 1976, a new school building was constructed on the site, and with additions over the years, is the present building.