Government reveals $164m for classroom upgrades

North Island schools will receive $132m, Education Minister Chris Hipkins revealed at Greytown School in Wairarapa, one of the schools included in the funding package. He claimed 7500 students would benefit from the improvements, which would also help sustain more than 3000 jobs.

Announced on November 19, the funding includes more than $10m each for both Ormiston Primary School and Kauri Flats Schools, for expansion to create an additional 250 and 350 student places, respectively.

Other schools to benefit include Browns Bay School on Auckland’s North Shore ($9m), Te Horo School in Otaki ($1m), with $30 million flagged for 91 short term roll growth classrooms in Auckland.

Another $30 million will be spent on three new schools and expansions in the Bay of Plenty, creating additional places for more than 1,000 students there. Two Gisborne schools will each receive $2.5m, $4 million will be spent at two schools in Waikato, $4.5 million will go to two Tai Tokerau schools and $25 million is set to create 77 short-term roll growth classrooms at 24 schools across the North Island (excluding Auckland).

Greytown School, which hosted the announcement, will receive $6m to replace a 100-year-old five-classroom block. Hipkins said, “The Ministry of Education and schools will be engaging with local builders, plumbers, carpenters, roofers, and electricians, who will in turn need to buy products and supplies from local stores. I know the school and the wider community has been waiting for this for a long time.”

South Island allocations of $32m were announced the following day, as part of the government’s National Education Growth Plan and the National School Redevelopment Programme.