School plan put to parents

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 4

School plan put to parents

A Canterbury Education Board proposal that Form 1 and 2 pupils in the Avonhead, Russley, Merrin, and Westburn primary school districts attend intermediate schools in Riccarton or Fendalton from next February, is being put to parents by" board and Education Department officials. About 200 parents from the Avonhead School district met officials last Wednesday to discuss the proposal, and similar meetings for parents in the other three school districts will be held in the next two weeks. The board’s general manager (Mr D. Wilson) said no decision on the proposal would be made until parents had been given a postal vote. The board has proposed that Russley and Avonhead school pupils attend the Kirkwood Intermediate School, Riccarton: and that those from Westburn and Merrin schools attend Cobham Intermediate School, fendalton. Mr Wilson said that if the proposal went ahead, only Form 1 pupils would make

I the move next year as Form '2 pupils would only have one year left al primary school i anyway. Parents in the Russley, Avonhead, and Merrin | school districts had indicated in a postal vote about five iyears ago that they would be willing to send their (children to an intermediate (school in Avonhead if there 'was one, said Mr Wilson. Since then, said Mr Wilson, circumstances had changed and he could not see the district getting an intermediate school in the foreseeable future. Threfore the hoard had offered parents this alternative. Mr Wilson said Avonhead was unlikely to get an intermediate school yet because of declining rolls at the four contributing primary schools as part of a New Zealand i trend, the unavailability of land until 1983, a slowing down in housing development in the area, and the unavailability ofo Government finance to build intermediate schools unless they 1 were in a high-priority category.