The government's charter skills bill passed its third reading in the House last night, and will be law within a week. Quack groups - including Destiny Church - are already lining up to scam money from the government by providing substandard education, and the first ones will open next year. Meanwhile, over the weekend, Stuff finally connected the dots between charter schools and the Christchurch school closures:
Sites left vacant by Christchurch school closures could be in demand for charter schools or apartment complexes.
The Government's school shake-up will leave 14 surplus schoolgrounds in the city with a combined rating value of $51.8 million, including land value of $9.8m.
They will be sold unless wanted by the Government, anyone who had donated the land or Ngai Tahu, a process which could take several years.
Local Valuers' Institute head Wilson Penman said the sites would make good campuses for charter schools, or language schools and private tertiary colleges displaced from the central city.
So, having closed Christchurch schools for "earthquake risk", the government is going to let its cronies re-open quack schools on the same sites. "Yes, we've taken away your free, secular, high-quality state school, but your kids can be 'educated' by unregistered teachers working for Destiny Church instead!" I wonder how that will go down with the local community?
