Thursday, 23rd February 2012
All the latest Ashburton News, Sports, Community and Business Information
| Zoning on the cards for Tinwald School |
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By Amanda Durry January 28, 2012
The school's roll was at capacity at the end of last year, after more students enrolled than predicted, and another classroom had to be started in the library to accommodate for extra numbers so enforcing the zone was looked at seriously by the board of trustees and principal Peter Livingstone. Board chairperson Kelvin Small said Tinwald was obviously a good school, with so many parents choosing to send their children there. "It's a positive thing to have such growth at Tinwald but a zone hasn't been enforced for the beginning of the year. "It will be something we monitor throughout the year though and is something we may have to consider again in the future," he said. Longbeach School was forced to implement an enrolment zone in 2009, following a stand-off with the Ministry of Education over a new classroom. The school battled with the ministry for months for an extra classroom and was driven to highlight its cause by hauling a shipping container on to the school grounds to use as a make-shift classroom. The ministry was denying the school the extra space unless it introduced an enrolment zone. Mid Canterbury Principals' Association president Dianne Prendergast said the need for an enrolment zone was triggered when a school was at capacity. "The ministry wants to make sure that taxpayer money is spent wisely and property is put where it is needed. "If a school continues to grow and request more property, then an enrolment zone may be necessary," she said. According to the Ministry of Education website, other schools in the district to have zones include Allenton, Carew Peel Forest, Hampstead, Methven Primary, Mount Hutt College and Mt Somers Springburn. The other issue in Mid Canterbury was the lack of properties available, Mrs Prendergast said. "In Mid Canterbury, there are more employment opportunities in the rural area but it depends if there is housing available for people as to whether they live in a rural area or choose to travel. "If the growth spread itself evenly then all the school rolls will continue to grow, but different areas have different developments." It is unlikely Mid Canterbury will reach a similar stage to Christchurch, where the majority of schools are zoned, she said. Because of this, parents have been known to buy houses in certain areas depending on which school enrolment zone they fall into. That wasn't the case here, according to local realtors. Hamish Niles from Property Brokers said the question he gets asked often is just about what schools are like. Jill Quaid from First National said the only place a zone can cause issues is in the Allenton area because of its school zone, which clients are made aware of. "If you've got children and are moving into an area, you find out all the information you can about the neighbouring schools." She agreed that we were lucky in Mid Canterbury that all our schools were good and said it will be interesting to see what happens in the future around zoning.
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