Hamilton’s new charter school at risk
The future of Hamilton’s new charter school is in doubt after reports the Government is looking to scrap new charter school contracts.
A primary school to be built in Hamilton’s northeast suburb of Sylvester in 2019 is one of four in jeopardy.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has asked for urgent advice on the four contracts.
He understands they were signed in the weeks leading up to the election by the ACT/National government.
‘‘The new Government will abolish the charter school model, but we have deliberately chosen not to make this part of our 100-day plan,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve asked for advice on the status of the charter schools, including those that recently signed contracts with the Ministry of Education and are due to open in the next two years.’’
Hipkins said he didn’t want to pre-empt that advice.
‘‘There are about 1200 young people attending charter schools and we want to take the time to work to find a solution that works for them.
‘‘We will look at each charter school on a case-by-case basis.
‘‘That could see some become schools of special character or state-integrated schools, while others may choose to close.’’
The population explosion in the north and northeast has meant that some schools are either near or over capacity and population is expected to continue for some decades.
The Sylvester school planned to cater for Year 1 to 6 pupils and was set to be built at the corner of Borman Road and Hare Puke Drive next to an area Hamilton City Council has set aside for recreation.
Earlier this year, Te Ko¯puku High charter school opened in Hamilton.
The school targets Ma¯ori and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
The coeducational school is run by Kia Ata Mai Educational Trust - a charitable trust focused on learners in immersion and Ma¯ori-theme programmes.
Its emphasis on language and literacy will be strong, but context will come from science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, a statement from the trust said.
Charter schools (also known as partnership schools) are run by private sponsors, such as iwi or businesses.
The schools receive the same funding per child from the Government as state schools, but they are free to set their own curricula and qualifications, teacher pay rates, school-day length and school terms.