August 24, 2018
No church money for Hātō Petera revival
Supporters of Hātō Petera College have presented the Education Minister with a $47 million revitalisation plan for the Northcote-based Māori Catholic boarding school.
Chris Hipkins was at the school yesterday to get community feedback on a proposal to cancel the school’s integration agreement, which provides the funds for teachers and operating costs.
Former pupil Rātahi Tōmuri says in the past few months supporters have developed a proposals to build a new school on the site, including a centre with speciality classrooms and a lecture theatre so tertiary education providers can work with pupils heading for university.
He says the plan has the support of mana whenua iwi, and it has also been shown to Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn.
"One of the key baseline points the church did discuss with us is that any proposal to be considered by the church would need to show that the school is financially independent and that the church can no longer afford to continue injecting money into a school," Mr Tōmuri says.
He says the bishop also insisted any revived school must conform to the current special character agreement that 95 percent of pupils are Catholic.
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