School houses safe from sell-off

Ruapehu Bulletin, 1 September 1992, Page 20

School houses safe from sell-off

BY

MARNIE

WOODD

Most local school houses should be safe from the Government's

planned asset sell-off to fund capital works for schools. The Government has

agreement from the boards of trustees to sell $26 million worth of surplus school property,

which includes 89 school houses. But associate Education Minister John

Luxton considers about 600 more houses are surplus. Cabinet is expected to decide within two weeks which of those 600-odd houses should be sold. A spokesman from the Minister's office said last Wednesday they are only looking at houses which are either vacant or privately tenanted,. so if a teacher or principal is in the house it would not be sold. Ohakune Primary School principal Ellen Gould said the school has one principal's house occupied by a teacher, six other houses - two of which are leased to private tenants, and a teachers' hostel which can accommodate about six people.

Raetihi has five school houses all of which are occupied by teachers. Tauri Morgan, Principal of Waiouru Primary school said they

have eight houses and a teachers hostel. "I doubt that we would be in the same situation as other schools because the houses are on defence land," he said.