August 02, 2016
Whanau still fighting for Hato Petera
The chair of the group looking after boarding hostels at Hato Petera is optimistic the Maori community can rally round and stop the Auckland Catholic Diocese closing the school.
Bishop Patrick Dunn is consulting on the school’s future, citing concerns about the low roll, academic standards, finances, whether it is meeting the terms of the integration agreement with the Education Ministry, and in-fighting between the board of trustees and the hostel board.
Rudy Taylor says the in-fighting is over and the whanau is pulling together.
"We did the big clean up of the school before Christmas. They were going to close it then. We turned it around. We showed that unity in Maoridom. You can have your fight but when we wanted to save a school like Hato Petera, everyone got behind the school and really showed it. Some people need to be thanked for the help they gave and people that were non-Catholics all came, so it is important for Maori," he says.
There are consultation hui in Takapuna on Thursday and Kaikohe on Saturday, but Rudy Taylor says the diocese also needs to go out to the small Northland Catholic communities where Hato Petera has traditionally drawn its students from.
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