Little notice of demolition given – head
The demolition of the Te Wharekura o Arowhenua auditorium has been granted a temporary reprieve, but principal Arni Wainui says the school was not given enough advance warning in the first place.
Yesterday, Mrs Wainui said the Education Ministry emailed board of trustees chairman Kevin Dell on Friday to inform the school demolition work would begin on its 495-seat auditorium this week.
Students and staff arrived at the school on Monday to find contractors at the auditorium ready to begin the demolition process, which is scheduled to run until April.
‘‘We were so gobsmacked; nobody quite knew what to do. At least give us time to think,’’ she said.
The building was scheduled to
‘‘We were so gobsmacked; nobody quite knew what to do. At least give us time to think.’’ Arni Wainui
be demolished in April last year but, despite a 90-day extension granted by the ministry, the school failed to provide a business plan to prove the building could be run by a trust.
At the time, Mr Dell said the deadline was unrealistic, and yesterday Mrs Wainui said the ministry’s criticism the school had not provided enough detail was unfair.
The school had hoped for a meeting with Education Minister Hekia Parata, after requests to her predecessor Anne Tolley ignored, Mrs Wainui said.
However, yesterday the ministry granted a temporary halt in proceedings, in order to give the school time to perform a ceremony to lift the tapu off the auditorium, Mrs Wainui said.
While it was just a small shred of hope, the school would continue its fight, she said.
‘‘The ministry ordered everybody off the site until Monday [next week], so everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but it doesn’t stop here,’’ she said.
A public meeting for anyone interested in the auditorium’s future – parents, and those with ideas on how to keep it alive – would be held tonight at the school at 6.30.
A statement from a ministry spokesman said the auditorium was too big for the needs of the school.
were
Maintenance costs were expected to increase and, despite ministry advice, no viable alternative plan for the building had been submitted by the school, he said.
A letter informing the school of the demolition was posted last week, and an email was followed up with a phone call from a property adviser.
Two meetings between the board chairperson, principal and two senior ministry group managers had also been held, the spokesman said.
The ministry had agreed to allow Te Wharekura o Arowhenua to formally farewell the building, and removal work was expected to resume next week, he said.
He did not respond to requests from The Southland Times to comment on the amount of notice given to the school before the building’s demolition.