Ministry of Education suspends 100 school construction projects

Principals have expressed frustration and concern over the decision to suspend construction projects at 100 schools.

The Education Department has suspended the programs, saying the move will save $2 billion.

this Cost-effectiveness evaluation 352 projects at 305 schools were reviewed, with a total budget cost of $4.6 billion.

The government decided to make modifications to 110 projects, such as removing unnecessary parts of the buildings or using modular or off-the-shelf designs instead of custom designs.

The suspended works include construction of two new classroom buildings at Beach Haven School in Auckland.

The school’s principal, Stephanie Thompson, said the news was like receiving coal at Christmas.

“Whenever these things happen, Beach Haven gets put on the back burner. It’s so disappointing,” she said.

“It’s like waking up on Christmas morning hoping for something nice and getting a lump of coal instead.”

Thompson said she is grateful that the school recently received temporary classrooms, but the school does not have extra classroom space and the staff lounge cannot accommodate all faculty and staff.

She knew other schools had classrooms in poor condition and were in greater need, but this school was “very close” to starting work.

“We are awaiting approval so we can finalize the price and anticipate starting construction soon,” she said.

“We’re looking at two or three storeys so it’s a pretty significant deal.”

Thompson said the school has been patient, but she now wishes things moved faster.

‘Serious problem’

Another school affected by the Ministry of Education’s decision is Christchurch’s Burnside High School, where reconstruction work has been suspended.

The school’s principal, Scott Haines, said it was “very problematic”, but he was unsure which program at the school was affected when RNZ spoke to him.

He said two classrooms at the school were closed due to earthquake risk and other classrooms needed urgent replacement. The school was part of the Christchurch school reconstruction project.

“We’ve encountered some significant headwinds in terms of real estate. In fact, the biggest issue facing Burnside High School right now is real estate supply,” he said.

“I’m not proud of the spaces that students are currently in. The most basic minimum requirement is that these teaching spaces should be warm and dry, and many classrooms lack one or both of these. Of course, the I and J blocks We just lost due to earthquake problemsare the two newest teaching buildings in our school.”

“I feel like we’ve gone backwards, and if we lose funding, we’re going to go backwards even further.”

Simon Coleman, headmaster of Ashburton College, said he first heard about the delays to the school’s construction project when a local newspaper called him for reaction.

“I’m a bit surprised that we haven’t received any official documentation… I thought we would get a notification from the ministry.”

Coleman said the college has several construction projects underway and he understands the student growth portion of the plan has been deferred and will be considered as a separate project.

“I hope the redevelopment of the 44-classroom building can go ahead, but that may have to wait until the next Budget and we are waiting for clarity on that process.”

The school has been awaiting reconstruction for the past decade.

“I am concerned about the condition of classrooms, which are neither satisfactory for teaching nor satisfactory for learning.

“These buildings are more than 60 years old and we have been waiting for 10 years and all construction work on these buildings has stopped because we are going to rebuild a school.”

Many of the school’s classrooms are dilapidated, with poor heating and cooling systems and leaks in wet weather, and he is unsure how long the school will have to wait for a response.

He said it was particularly disappointing that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited the school last month and saw first-hand the state of the building.

“I do think immediate action is needed to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the people who work and learn in these spaces.”

He said the school was not interested in custom buildings – they just wanted classrooms that were fit for purpose.

Coleman wants an “open, honest and timely conversation” with the Department of Education about next steps so they can work together to find a solution.

Providing relief to Southland schools

An Invercargill school says it is “ecstatic” its construction project will go ahead despite changes being required to save $2 million.

Mike Newell, headmaster of James Hagest Academy, said the school’s long hiatus would end next week.

“We will meet again with the design team on Monday to discuss how to cut costs.”

The school needs 14 new classrooms.

Newell told RNZ in February: Ceiling collapsed on children, special needs ward leaked like ‘a wall of water’.

“We were very excited when we got the news that the project was moving forward,” he said Friday.

“It’s not surprising to us that we needed to save $2 million on this $24 million project.”

They’ve been told they could save $500,000 simply by cutting out a large window and making the roof flatter.

“If that’s the case, then we’re fine,” Newell said.

He makes sure that functionality and durability aren’t compromised by cutting back. “We know what has happened to the work that people have done in the past to save money.”

Meanwhile, 142 projects have not seen any changes, but some of them are only in the design and planning stage and require further approval before construction or design can proceed.

Most of the projects considered in the review were driven by growth in the school’s student population (234), and 118 were related to the poor condition of existing buildings.

The ministry said the review of ministry-led construction projects took into account cost-effectiveness as well as the necessity and timing of the projects.

“The cost of building classrooms has increased significantly over the past few years. We need to reduce costs and ensure all projects in our program deliver good value.”

“With demand for new school buildings so high across the country, the more cost-effectively we can achieve on a single project, the more benefit we can deliver to all ākonga/students across the country.”

The report said some projects required “intensive study” while others needed a lighter review depending on their stage.

“Of the 352 projects, 252 will proceed with planning, design or construction activities as planned or with some variation. Projects that received planning and design funding will need to seek further funding approvals to move to the next stage. For most projects, this means prioritizing investment through the Budget 25 process,” the ministry said.

“There are currently 100 projects that will not proceed. These projects will be reconsidered for investment as part of the budget25 process. 110 projects are undergoing changes. Of these, 62 are growth projects and 48 are conditional projects. Changes include removing non-essential scope and/or changing the delivery solution to a simpler, repeatable or modular solution.”

The list of projects shows that delayed projects include a new secondary school in Drury, and new primary schools in New Lynn/Avondale, Cambridge, Omokoroa near Tauranga, Tamaoho in Auckland and Te Kauwhata in the Waikato.

Other projects delayed include expansions at Auckland schools Baverstock Oaks and Birkenhead, and Ashburton College and Clyde School.

Redevelopment projects at Central Hawke’s Bay College and Gisborne Boys’ High School will not proceed.

Additional reporting by Phil Pennington.