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Protest against proposed Christchurch schools, September 19, 2012 - Source: ONE News -
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The Prime Minister said he sympathises with parents affected by proposals to close Christchurch schools, but is refusing to back down over the controversial plan.
The Government is proposing to close 13 schools, merge 18 into nine and relocate a further seven, fuelling protest marches and outrage from parents.
"I have great sympathy for the parents and the anxiety they feel," Key said today.
"(But) We have very little options available to us if we are to provide schooling that is required at 21st century levels."
The Ministry of Education faced tough criticism from councillors over its plans today.
A spokesperson from the ministry briefed councillors over the controversial proposals this morning but faced a grilling over the way the matter had been dealt with so far.
Councillor Peter Beck said the way the schools were told, during a meeting last week, was "the most insensitive thing" he had ever witnessed. He said the blow was like another huge aftershock.
Councillor Jamie Gough said he was disappointed that today was the first dialogue they have had with the ministry and the process was "a slap in the face."
Ministry spokesperson Coralenne Child said the issue is open to consultation and the council will be briefed again on progress.
Shift of power
Last night's protesters were also angry about a decision to keep Government-appointed commissioners in place to run Environment Canterbury until 2016 and a shift of power from the Christchurch City Council to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.
Further public protests are being planned with organisers saying they will continue to fight the Government's "dictatorial top down approach".
They claim Christchurch has lost its democracy and is being run by bureaucrats in Wellington.
Education Minister Hekia Parata said she was not surprised by the number of people in the latest protest and she understood that some communities will be upset by the plans.
She said today the Government had made it clear the community would be consulted in the coming months as decisions were finalised.
Each school "cluster" is being encouraged to "develop a plan for how they see themselves operating" and will be meeting with the Education Ministry over the next three weeks, Parata said.
And she said the proposals give certainty to 173 of the 215 Canterbury schools not affected by the planned changes.
The Government had based its proposals on a range of factors including the impact of the earthquakes and the schools' ability to meet new earthquake standards, the condition of the schools, and the current and projected rolls.
Decisions around some schools have not been made because full information about the impact of the earthquakes on their property is not yet available.
The earthquakes have reduced the number of students in Canterbury by 4500 and there are now too many schools in the area, Parata said.
More protest action
However Christchurch locals are now planning a second protest on Saturday which they say will show the Government that they will "fight this like no other fight the Government has seen".
"When I heard the announcement I knew the impact on parents and pupils would be enormous," said Wayne Hawker, the organiser of the Save our Schools and our Communities protest.
"How will our parents in this lower decile school be expected to take their kids across to another school miles away? We have lost the heart of our community."
According to Hawker, the protest will focus on asking the Government to cancel the proposals until further dialogue is made with parents, teachers, principals, councillors and key community leaders.
Fellow organiser Mike Coleman said the protest will show that the community is "no longer willing to lie down and take this dictatorial top down approach from this Government".
Saturday's protest will start at 12pm at the Hagley Park netball courts.
Each school "cluster" was being encouraged to "develop a plan for how they see themselves operating" and would be meeting with the Education Ministry over the next three weeks, she said.
The proposals give certainty to 173 of the 215 Canterbury schools not affected by the planned changes.
Decisions around some schools have not been made because full information about the impact of the earthquakes on their property is not yet available.
The earthquakes have reduced the number of students in Canterbury by 4500 and there are now too many schools in the area, Parata said.
The Government had based its proposals on a range of factors including the impact of the earthquakes and the schools' ability to meet new earthquake standards, the condition of the schools, and the current and projected rolls.