“Bungling” blamed for closing school

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32562, 23 March 1971, Page 14

“Bungling” blamed for closing school

The inability of the McKenzie Residential School to function because no domestic staff could be employed represented a classic case of departmental bungling, said the president of the Disturbed Children’s Aid Movement in Christchurch (Mrs E. J. Price) yesterday.

Mrs Price was commenting on a report in “The Press” on Saturday which said that the school—the first of its type in the South Island, opened by the Education Department in February, at a cost of sloo,ooo—was unable to accept pupils because of a Government “freeze” on

the employment of domestic staff.

“This is a ridiculous situation when the teaching staff have already been appointed ready to work with the children,” she said. Parents of children selected to attend the school had been notified. The Disturbed Children’s Aid Movement, which did not necessarily represent the children’s parents directly, was shocked, she said, that a situation could have arisen where such a misuse of Government and public money could occur.

“This organisation worked very hard to see this school established and contributed $lO,OOO to its cause. “Until Saturday morning we had been in complete ignorance about the shocking situation at McKenzie School over domestic staffing,” Mrs Price said. If the situation was allowed to continue any longer it would have an adverse effect on the children concerned. “We have written to the Auditor-General seeking an urgent remedy to the situation,” she said.