Waiouru Kindergartens face two options for survival

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 680, 1 April 1997, Page 1

Waiouru Kindergartens face two options for survival

Over 50 people attended a public meet ing Monday night last week to discuss funding options for the two Waiouru kindergartens. I Community services officer Ken Morton opened Ihe meeting and provided the background of the funding issue which has brought this matter to a mead. The possible options to resolve the funding mroblems were then outlined by Craig Spinks who mad previously chaired the joint kindergarten comInittee meetings which came up with the viable lolutions. Speaking with regard to the cost of the ftroposed options, Jo Sheppard and Adrian Lyne,

members of the Wanganui Free Kindergarten Association Exeeutive committee, highlighted the extra fund-raising required and also reiterated the principles underlying kindergarten education. The three options have been identified previously as: • Amalgamation. • Reduced sessions at both centres. • One kindergarten remaining the same while the other reduces its sessions to five mornings per week. Questions from the floor were invited with the merits and disadvantages of each option being

fully discussed. Sue Hercock, chief exeeutive of the association, and Hine Thompson, head teacher for the association, raised issues regarding the educational value associated with the potential numbers of children per session and the impact that has on the teaching programmes for the children. Following these discussions the floor was asked to indicate their preference for each option by way of a show of hands. The majority elearly favoured the amalgamation option or the third option which would result in one kindergarten reducing its number of sessions per week. However, some at the meeting abstained from making a final choice.

Representatives from the "Kindergarten Xssociation will now take this proposal to the management committee' s Annual General Meeting this week. It is expected that the new officers will meet within the following week with the final decision being made by the end of this term. The Ministry of Education will decide which kindergarten is to be most affected by the change and will take into account such factors as the state of buildings and existing staffing levels. Neither kindergarten will be affected in the short term as a transition period will be required to enable the final decision to be put into operation.