2 days ago
After years of leaks and delays, Taihape Area School gets rebuild green light
Taihape Area School is getting a rebuild. a decade after flaws were exposed.
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Taihape Area School is in line to get a long-awaited makeover and 19 new classrooms.
The 15-year-old Taihape Area School has been plagued by leaks, cold rooms and bad plumbing
since the start.
But officials have
flip-flopped
for a decade between a repair or rebuild.
Now, the government said work on a new hard technology classroom, multipurpose hall and gym, and the other classrooms will begin within a year.
"The Taihape community has been loud and clear for almost a decade that their school property is not fit-for-purpose," Education Minister Erica Stanford said in a statement.
"Students and staff have been teaching and learning in sub-standard classrooms for too long."
Taihape is the major recipient of a rollout announced on Friday of 32 new classrooms in all, across Waikato and the central North Island.
Hamilton East (four classrooms), Waipawa (two), Maungatapu School in Tauranga (three), Te Kauwhata Primary (two) and Kawerau South (two classrooms) would also get several classrooms each.
"Construction on these projects will begin over the next 12 months," Stanford said.
The average cost of building a classroom had been cut 28 percent by using standardised designs, offsite manufacturing and streamlining procurement, almost a third more classrooms had been delivered in 2024 compared to 2023, she added.
Taihape Area School board member Melissa Lawrence said the move marked a "significant and long-awaited step forward for our kura and community".
"This is about more than buildings - it's about creating the conditions for our tamariki to thrive," she said in a statement on Friday.
"This investment reflects the shared voice of our community over many years and represents a collective step into a stronger future."
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