Donald Rod: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Donald Rod: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 19 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6422. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5.  
ROD DONALD (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Why is he recommending that Henley Momona and Allanton schools be closed and merged with Outram and East Taieri schools rather than accepting the proposals from his own ministry’s network review to merge the three schools on the Allanton site? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 The chosen option is close to one of the two options proposed through the facilitator of the community-based review which had a reference group that included representatives of all those schools. The chosen option is as far as those schools are concerned exactly the same as option two which came through that very long—and I might say somewhat tortuous—process. 
Rod Donald 
: Do I take it from that answer that the Minister does not accept that merging on the Allanton site is the strong preference of the local community as well as the preferred option from the ministry’s own review facilitator; if so is he trying to impose his will on a rural community that is working together and does not want to be split up? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: No. First of all I congratulate the member on keeping the promise he made down at Allanton to come and do some stirring in Parliament. But no the facts are very clear in that this is option two for those schools and came out of the process they were involved in leading. 
David Benson-Pope 
: Can the Minister detail to the House the intended benefits of the review of schools in Mosgiel and the wider Taieri area? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The purpose of the review is to make sure that the children in the area now and in the future receive the best possible education. This review is not about saving money; it is about using education money for the best use of the students. The proposals I have made to date would see the release of $11 million which would be transferred for spending on education in that area. Of that money $6.4 million will be used for the development of the new schools. That money will put those schools—which on average are about one-third full—into the top 20 percent in the country in terms of property and the remainder of the money will be devoted to teaching and learning in those schools. We need to make a choice: do we want property or do we want education? 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Noting the way that the Minister yesterday lauded the Goodman Fielder School of the Year why is his ministry threatening the 2000 Goodman Fielder School of the Year at Wyllies Crossing with closure and the 2002 best little school of the year North Taieri School with closure while ignoring that there have been over 100 schools with repeat bad reviews around the country; is the message from the Minister to punish winners and reward losers? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Not at all. One of the clear factors that stimulate the area reviews is poor Education Review Office reports. 
Rod Donald 
: Why did the Ministry of Education recently provide a new classroom at Wyllies Crossing School install cabling for a computer network at Allanton School spend around $100000 on new administration facilities at Melville Park School and $100000 on a new library and office at North Taieri School only to announce that all four schools will close at the end of the year? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I think it is fair to say that in this role I have a real dilemma. Where there is substantial roll decline and substantial overcapacity as there is in this area we have the choice of freezing all buildings for maybe a decade beforehand—as would be promoted by that member—or of saying that a school can go on. We would then possibly lose a bit of money but we would not have uncertainty for that very long period. I prefer the current approach whereby we do end up spending in the end. On the question of Wyllies Crossing School I really think that for the member to be promoting it as a rural school when it is 3 kilometres from the boundaries of Mosgiel is pretty silly. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Noting the importance the Minister puts on efficient use of public money for children why did he make a big deal—and a wonderful photo opportunity—of the opening of the new homework centre at North Taieri School which he is now proposing to close; is this a Minister who spends public money on property to get good photo opportunities which have nothing to do with getting a good education for children? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The member might be flattering me as I think there is no such thing as a good photo as far as I am concerned. The substantive point is that the homework centre is not at the school. 
Rod Donald 
: Is the Minister aware that there is a new 60-section residential subdivision under construction near the Reid Park School that the first six homes have boosted the roll by 14 pupils that another subdivision is before the council for consent and that there are no bus services to take pupils from that low-income area to the nearest school; and will he reconsider his proposal to close Reid Park School in the light of that information? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I do not have all the details of the distances involved. I know that I have had some very proper representations about transport issues and especially about pupils crossing Factory Road from my colleague the member for Dunedin South. That is an issue that has to be part of my future decision-making. We still have some more work to do on that particular area. As far as the population and housing growth in the area are concerned unfortunately for people involved in education in the area the vast majority of the extra housing that is happening in that area of Mosgiel is for retired people. 
Rod Donald 
: Supplementary question Mr Speaker. Is this my fourth supplementary question? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No it will be the fifth one.