Hato Petera College in Auckland now has just one student on its roll.
The roll has declined from 210 in 1995 and the Education Review Office had expressed concerns about the school’s performance.
Earlier this year, Lex Hamill was appointed as a commissioner to take over the governance of the college.
Hamill said there is an issue about how four teachers and a limited number of students can offer a balanced programme.
This year the school was set to receive $330,000 from the Ministry of Education’s operational grant fund for a projected roll of 15 students.
However, Hamill said those funds would drop to around $200,000 with only one student currently at the school – although the salary of teachers did not come out of those funds.
Last Friday, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced the government and Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland had agreed to begin consultations about whether to cancel the school’s integration agreement.
“With only one student currently in attendance, the Commissioner has raised concerns about the sustainability of the school.
He is supportive of the decision that the proprietor of Hato Petera College, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, and I have now taken to initiate the consultation process.
I acknowledge that this is an uncertain time for the student currently attending Hato Petera, her whanau and the community.
But the role of Maori boarding schools has changed over the years,” Hipkins said.
“Despite the extensive work of the commissioner, previous boards of trustees, teaching staff and the community, concerns about the college’s finances, human resourcing, curriculum and its low student numbers remain.”
If the agreement is cancelled, the Diocese would be left to decide whether to close it or begin running it as a private school.
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