A school all to himself
Community’s battle to keep school open offers hope for others Taxpayers fork out $158,798 to teach just one pupil
A Manawatu 6-yearold is the last pupil standing at a tiny country school. Miri Schroeter and Nicholas McBride report.
When the bell rings for class to start again this year, one rural Manawatu school will have just one pupil.
On Wednesday, Cruiz Strickett, 6, will be all by himself when he enters the classroom for his second year at Linton Country School, following a family tradition of generations. None of his 11 former classmates will be there.
The school peaked at 42 pupils in 2005, last year there were 12, now Strickett is the lone student.
The Linton Country board of trustees were on the brink of closing it, but the community rallied successfully to keep it open – almost unprecedented for such a small school.
As a result, Linton Country School, in a small township near Palmerston North, has the lowest possible roll in the country.
It has mainly taught children from farming and New Zealand Defence Force families and will run on a budget of just $158,798 this year.
The school’s leadership didn’t think Cruiz wouldn’t be left playing alone for long, and hope other students might turn up when term begins this week.
The school is currently under the guidance of limited statutory manager Laura Snowden and is headed by relieving principal Gail Dobbin.
Many of the 12 pupils in 2016 had left for college, but Snowden said it was disappointing some had moved to other schools.
‘‘We knew the roll was dropping and that was what prompted the board to go out to the community and talk to the ministry and discuss the viability of the school.’’
Although there were fewer primary school-aged children in the community, there were about 20 pre-schoolers, which could help Linton Country thrive again.
‘‘They are not suddenly going to turn up in droves, it is not going to happen overnight but I certainly would be expecting we get an increase in numbers near the end of the year.
‘‘We will probably be building from the bottom.’’
The board contemplated closure, holding three consultation meeting where up to 40 people turned up to rally for the school to stay open.
The decision to continue was made by the board, not the Ministry of Education, she said.
There were major obstacles to overcome – a fire in the kitchen and community hall in October last year and the lure of schools in nearby Palmerston North.
But Cruiz’s parents were determined to keep him at the tiny school in Linton, continuing a family tradition. His father, Aaron Strickett, said it was the best place for his son to learn.
For the first part of 2016, Cruiz went to a large school in Upper Hutt but changed midway through the year because he ‘‘got lost’’ in a classroom of 30, said Strickett.
‘‘Since he’s been at the country school he can write and say the alphabet. Before, he couldn’t do that.’’
The school had a community feel to it that bigger city schools lacked and it was filled with nostalgia, he added.
‘‘My partner went there, my partner’s mum went there. Cruiz is the sixth generation.’’
To encourage more enrolments, Strickett spent his spare time sprucing up the school grounds.
He had fixed the sandpit, tidied up the gardens, cleaned the drains and put up bright yellow school signs. ‘‘I’ll be doing anything I can,’’ he said. Snowden said: ‘‘It is about opening that new chapter and reforming the place so it is an attractive place.’’
‘‘We’ve got back paddocks. We want to bring back the country feeling. It’s a family environment.’’
Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said small, rural schools were an important part of the education system.
‘‘There is no roll number at which we would automatically consider closing a school.
‘‘Rather, when a very small school does close, it’s more often because a board of trustees has voluntarily sought to close because the board believes a school isn’t educationally viable and there are other good educational options available nearby.’’
As of July 2016, 103 schools had fewer than 20 students, and 20 had fewer than 10.