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Rural families who have students at Silverdale School, including some whose involvement with the school goes back generations, are angry at a proposal that could see them placed out of zone.
The amendment to the zone was initiated by the Ministry of Education in response to the pace of growth in Millwater and surrounding areas that Ministry officials admit took them by surprise.
Around 50 people attended an emotionally charged meeting at Silverdale School on November 2 to discuss the proposed zone changes.
Many were from Stillwater and other rural areas such as Pine Valley Rd and East Coast Rd who would find themselves out of zone if the proposed amendments go ahead. People in those areas would have to take a chance that the siblings of existing students could get into the school via a ballot.
Although principal Cameron Lockie said that the school anticipated no problems, at least in the first few years, with finding places for siblings from out of zone, parents maintain that nothing short of leaving the zone where it is will satisfy them.
At times referring to the school as “Stillwater School”, the residents said that rural students whose families have lived in the area for many years should not be shut out in favour of those from developing areas such as Millwater.
“Surrounding rural areas should have been considered first because we have been here for decades,” one resident said. “Why are we being pushed out for a new residential area? Silverdale is where our amenities and our history lie. The new zone alienates a community.”
“The community is invested in this school and not just financially,” another resident said. “We helped build it into the kind of school it is – the kind that we want for our kids.”
Ministry of Education senior advisor Emma Bourne said that the changes have been proposed because of the potential for overcrowding.
She said that the projected roll at Silverdale School, if nothing is done, would be well over 1100 students by 2020 – a size she said would be unacceptable to many parents.
However, she conceded that even with the proposed changes the school would still be a large one. “If Silverdale’s zone is amended as proposed and retains Year 1–8, by 2020 the roll would be around 839, not including siblings accepted on the ballot,” she said.
Silverdale School is of course not alone in having pressure on its roll and other local schools also face the need to amend, or create, a zone.
Ministry of Education project lead–area reports, Julien Le Sueur, said that while local colleges have capacity for growth, the Ministry is investigating the need for a new primary school, Northwest of Silverdale School.
“We are in the process of identifying where we could potentially put a new primary school,” he said. “It requires finding a large piece of land at a competitive price and building would have to be timed so that it doesn’t stand empty.”
The process of amending the zone includes a period for consultation and submissions, which are obtained by the school board and passed on to the Ministry. The final decision rests with the Director of Education for Auckland.
Bearing in mind the strength of feeling among the community, the date for submissions has been extended by two weeks – submissions now close on December 2. The school board also agreed that any amended zone will take effect from May 1 next year, rather than the start of 2016 as originally proposed.
