By Adrien Taylor
Today is the final day for submissions to oppose the Government's plan to shut down two of the country's four special residential schools.
McKenzie residential school in Christchurch is fighting to stay open and its principal warns shutting it may end up costing the government, society, and other students in ways that are hard to measure.
When Sir Roy McKenzie gifted two-and-a-half hectares of rural land to the Government in 1969, he wanted to provide a safe and welcoming place for children with emotional and behavioural disorders and give them the extra attention they need in education.
“He would be absolutely dismayed and extremely disappointed to know that the school may be closing,” says McKenzie School principal Greg Healy.
The Ministry of Education wants to scrap McKenzie Residential School.
“We have proposed that two schools be closed and that we maintain two,” says Education Minister Hekia Parata.
The move is part of a proposed "mixed ownership model" for learners with special education needs.
The changes include;
- Closing the McKenzie Residential School in Christchurch and the 100 year old Salisbury Residential School in nelson
- Expanding the capacity of both Auckland's Westbridge Residential School and the Halswell Residential College for students with intellectual impairments in Christchurch
- Extending an "intensive wraparound service" that aims to keep children in their local schools.
The end result would be one residential school in the North Island for students with severe behavioural issues and one in the south for students with intellectual impairments. They would have 100 students between them, down from 115 in the current arrangement.
The Ministry says the wraparound service will support pupils with complex needs to stay in their community and attend their local school, but it's unclear just how much support will be there for teachers
McKenzie's principal of 23 years says he's not necessarily against the wraparound service for some, but insists his school offers a service mainstream schools can't.
“Many of these schools do not feel they've got the capability and capacity or indeed the resourcing to manage these pupils so it does put huge strain on teachers, it does put huge strain principals and other pupils,” says Mr Healy.
Ministry of Education figures from 2010 show the Government invested $84,200 in each student who attended a Residential Special School as opposed to approximately $29,000 per student that qualifies for the wraparound service.
But Healy says any savings made could be outweighed by the costs other government departments will later pick up such as the criminal justice system.
His school accommodates 29 students at the extreme end of misbehaviour full time. He argues that putting them back in local schools could disrupt the education of 29 classes or up to 900 students.
With the submission period for the proposed changes ending today, Mr Healy is requesting more time to research the effectiveness of the intensive wrap around service.
The Ministry is expected to make a final decision in November.
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