No decision yet on Hillcrest School site
The future of a closed-down Tararua school is yet to be decided.
Hillcrest School in Pahı¯atua closed last year due to a declining roll and officially shut on January 27. The Crown-owned land and buildings are now being administered by the Ministry of Education.
The primary school had battled to turn around a falling roll in recent years and was expected to have about eight pupils this year, so the board of trustees requested the closure. The school had 34 pupils in 2015.
The ministry’s head of education infrastructure Kim Shannon said the school was being managed by Land Information New Zealand while a decision was made about its use.
‘‘As we only acquire and retain land needed for the delivery of education, if the site is found to be no longer required for education purposes it will be declared surplus and processed for disposal in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Act.
‘‘This provides other agencies, local authorities and iwi with an opportunity to signal their interest in properties before they are sold.’’
The school’s assets and resources were transferred to other local schools, historical items would go to the Pahı¯atua Museum and other important documentation would be archived.
Kevin Palmer was appointed as the school’s statutory manager in 2017. He told Stuff in December the school roll had been declining for years and with five pupils moving on to secondary school, several others moving out of the district and no new enrolments, this year’s roll would have been about eight pupils.
‘‘On the basis of these roll predictions and in the best interests of the students from a learning, achievement and social wellbeing perspective, the board took the difficult but logical decision that school closure was the best option, particularly as there are other nearby, quality schooling options available.’’
The remaining Hillcrest pupils, who were of primary school age and staying in the district, changed schools, he said.
Hillcrest opened on the old Pahı¯atua District High School site in 1964.