A troubled Northland charter school has had its doors shut by the Education Minister after two years of operation.
Te Pumanawa o te Wairua, whose future has been uncertain since a final performance notice in July, will officially close on March 7 after Education Minister Hekia Parata concluded the challenges facing the charter school are "too great to overcome".
Among those challenges are the school's heavy reliance on third parties to take it forward, lack of internal capability, the difficulty of attracting suitably qualified teaching staff and concerns over whether there are enough students to keep the school afloat.
...not to mention problems with poor attendance, bullying, drug use and management infighting and potential fraud by staff. Basicly, this school was a disaster from start to finish. And yet Parata shovelled money at it for two years in a desperate attempt to delay today's inevitable headline, while downplaying and minimising its problems. In the process, she's cost us millions of dollars. And she needs to be held accountable for that.
Also needing to be held accountable are the muppets who drafted the government's contract with this shady outfit, which let them take $3 million in establishment costs and basicly pocket it. They've bought themselves a farm, and now that the school has been closed, they'll apparently get to keep it - or we'll have to buy them out. Either way, they'll be laughing all the way to the bank.