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Pause in planning for new Ōmokoroa schools frustrates parents
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Land on the corner of Ōmokoroa and Prole Rds has been put aside for
schools but the Government has paused the project. Photo / Alex Cairns
Parents of teens facing an hour's bus ride on a highway notorious for
delays to get to class are frustrated by the lack of progress on
building two new schools in their fast-growing community.
Earthworks for Ōmokoroa's new primary school and first secondary
school had been "on track" to start early this year, the former
Education Minister says, but the lot remains empty.
The Ministry of Education says the Ōmokoroa schools are among up to
350 projects in pre-construction on hold for a value-for-money review.
A local father says meanwhile kids are spending a "stupid amount of
time" on buses travelling State Highway 2 to high schools in Tauranga.
Former community board member Greig Neilson said he pushed for the
local school so his children could attend but he had become
"disengaged" after seeing no progress on the lot.
"Four months ago the Ministry said the geotech and earthworks were
underway but I drive past the site every day and see that isn't the
case," he said.
Neilson, who administered western school bus networks in Tauranga,
said his last official communication from the Ministry suggested the
earliest opening date was 2025 but his personal estimation was 2027.
This was because it typically took two years to build a school and the
dirt needed to be moved in the summer months.
Composite picture showing the lack of change in the land use over the
space of a year. Photo / Alex Cairns
Neilson said he became involved in the cause after seeing high school
students boarding buses nearly two hours before school started, 4km
from the new school site.
"It's a stupid amount of time for kids as young as 13 to spend on a
bus and it affects their ability to study and take on extracurricular
activities," Neilson said.
The government bought land on the corner of Prole and Ōmokoroa Rds for
the schools in 2019 and allocated funding in 2021. They were expected
to cater for more than 1100 students.
Ōmokoroa is expected to be home to 10,000 people in the future,
according to the local council, with new planning rules to allow for
more houses to be built signed off this week.
Sarah Fletcher said she moved to Ōmokoroa late last year believing her
10-year-old son would be able to attend his first year of high school
at the new school.
She said she had not looked at other options, as she knew "from other
parents how much of a pain it is to ride the bus into town".
"I hope the school is built in time because I don't think putting him
on a bus for an hour each day would be something we'd look at," she
said.
The bus route between the New Ōmokoroa College and Tauranga Girls'
College takes 54 minutes.
In 2018 Jo Linthwaite started a petition to Parliament to build
Ōmokoroa a high school. Her daughter is now in her second year at
Tauranga Girls' College.
Linthwaite said it took "well over an hour" for her daughter to travel
to school every day from Whakamārama - longer if traffic meant
students missed the connecting bus in Bethlehem.
"About a month ago it was a three-hour journey home because of the
Friday traffic," Linthwaite said.
Whakamarama mum Jo Linthwaite started the petition in 2019. File photo
/George Novak
Linthwaite said this was hard for her daughter, who had to wait for
the bus in the dark during some months.
She said it was "a real shame" that construction of the new school had
not started.
# Why it's paused
Ministry of Education head of property Sam Fowler told the _Bay of
Plenty Times_ Ministry-led projects across schools and kura in pre-
construction were being reviewed for .
"The cost to build a classroom has increased significantly over the
past few years - we need to bring costs down and make sure we're
achieving good value across all projects in our programme," Fowler
said.
The timeframe for building the Ōmokoroa Schools was subject to the
review and prioritisation of national and regional needs, and the
community would be updated after the review.
In a February press release, Education Minister Erica Stanford said
there had been "cost escalations" and some schools were "expecting
exciting, bespoke building projects that are not able to be delivered
on.
"It is deeply concerning that many of these projects, years in the
planning, were not underpinned by a value-for-money approach from the
beginning."
Ex-Education Minister Jan Tinnetti.
Former Education Minister and Tauranga-based Labour list MP Jan
Tinetti said she was "really disappointed" by the lack of progress on
the site.
Tinetti, who announced last March building would begin this year, said
her last briefing on the project was before the election where she was
told construction was "on target [to start in] early 2024".
She said the only work done so far, however, was removing the houses
and an orchard on the site.
"To see the pullback from that statement is hugely frustrating because
I worked really hard on the project because I knew the need in that
community."
Tinetti said with Ōmokoroa primary schools close to capacity and older
students on b, the project "couldn't happen fast enough".
"You can see the growth happening out there and the urgency around
ensuring the schooling situation is well catered for."
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson. Photo / Hagen Hopkins
Coromandel MP Scott Simpson of National said Stanford announced in
February that many school property-related projects couldn't be
delivered within their allocated budget or timeframe and Ōmokoroa's
were among the projects identified.
"The subsequent delays have been a blow to many local families who
want certainty that their children can be educated locally."
# What principals say
Ōmokoroa Point School principal Sandra Portegys said strategic
planning for the school year was challenging without updates on the
projects.
The school had opened six new classrooms since 2020 and felt ongoing
pressure with "many more houses being built on the peninsula".
Ōmokoroa Point School principal Sandra Portegys. Photo / Alex Cairns
Ōtūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon said he supported "local
kids going to their local schools".
After riding the bus to the Kaimai for a school camp, he said he was
"stunned" by the traffic and felt for the kids from the area attending
his college in Tauranga.
"My heart goes out to those little ones who make that trip morning and
night," Gordon said.
Gordon was a part of the planning team for the new high school - which
included principals, teachers and iwi - and said their last meeting
had been cancelled three weeks ago and they were to be updated in June
or July.
**Harriet Laughton** **is a multi-media journalist based in the Bay
of Plenty.**
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