Whangaruru students must be supported following charter school failure
The Whangaruru charter school agreement has been formally terminated and NZEI Te Riu Roa says the key focus must now be the welfare and future education of the students caught up in this
failed ideological experiment.
NZEI President Louise Green said charter school proponents would say the closure of the school showed the success of the
scheme in removing underperformers, but children were the casualties of any closure as their education was disrupted yet
again.
“Using the charter school funding to support these kids in their local schools would have been a far more effective use
of taxpayers’ money and there would have been plenty left over to help many more struggling Northland children.
“The whole scheme is a waste of money as buildings and resources are replicated in competition with existing public
schools,” she said.
Ms Green said it also remained to be seen whether the government would be able to recover the land and buildings that
the Ngā Parirau Mātauranga Charitable Trust purchased with $1.6 million of establishment funding. The school also
received $3.2 million of operational funding over the past two years.