School Property Changes Welcomed - With Some Concerns

Improvements to the management of school property, announced today and based on the findings of a Ministerial inquiry into school property, are welcomed, says Kate Gainsford, Chair of the Secondary Principals’ Council.

“We have been waiting for the release of the report and recommendations for some time, so it’s great that schools have some certainty at last. It’s good to see the concerns of many schools reflected in the report.

“We are pleased that a Functioning Chief Executive (FCE) unit is being set up to prioritise school property – there is a tremendous amount of catching up to do and hopefully the FCE will mean this will happen at pace.”

However, principals were concerned about the Government’s intention to consider options for a new model that separated school property policy from operational delivery.

“Property functions must have a clear and close connection and integration with other planning and resourcing decisions affecting schools. This is crucial – the further away from the public service an entity becomes, and the more that it focuses on commercial efficiencies, the higher the risk that it misses the required integration with other planning and resourcing affecting schools. A good example of this is roll growth as a result of immigration.”

Kate Gainsford urged the Minister of Education to take into account principals’ and school boards’ knowledge and understanding of the complexity of schools’ needs, in designing a new model for school property.

“This will ensure that the new entity is truly responsive to schools’ needs, and can provide property solutions that will meet those needs. Property functions need to reflect the changing demands of what education looks like.

“For instance, while principals are happy with simplified and streamlined processes and buildings, school facilities cover a more complex set of needs than simple, modular relocatable units can generally meet on their own. These include specialist teaching spaces, especially for technology, safe management of the movement of large numbers of people, air quality, professional workspaces, extra-curricular activities; and community expectations around schools as a hub for their communities.”

Kate Gainsford said the Secondary Principals’ Council looked forward to working with the Government on the implementation of the review recommendations. “I think we all agree that school property is a valuable public asset and should be well managed, planned for and maintained by the public service for the public good.”

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