- Hon Chris Bishop
- Hon Erica Stanford
As part of the Government's $2 billion investment into school infrastructure, $56.6 million has today been announced to fix longstanding condition issues and bring facilities up to standard at six schools to ensure students are learning in warm, safe, fit-for-purpose classrooms, Education Minister Erica Stanford and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say.
"As Minister, I'm delighted that six schools will be receiving these major redevelopments, covering 52 teaching spaces up and down the country. These projects are rolling out as part of the Government's investment through Budget 24 and 25," Ms Stanford says.
"After years of undelivered promises and underinvestment by the previous Government, we have prioritised school infrastructure to get school communities the classrooms, upgrades, and maintenance work they have long waited for.
"When we came into Government, we inherited a school property system nearing crisis. Schools were promised new projects but were left waiting, often for years, on unfunded, bespoke, expensive plans."
"Through Budget 24 and 25, we increased funding for school maintenance work by $880 million. This more than doubled the maintenance funding increases in the previous six years combined," Mr Bishop says.
"We've significantly reduced the average cost of a classroom by increasing the use of offsite manufactured builds and repeatable designs, and delivered 583 classrooms last year alone, 31 percent more than in 2023.
"That means more classrooms, delivered faster, providing better learning environments for our kids and better value for taxpayers.
"After decades of underinvestment, we're a Government that's both funding and delivering the classrooms that our teachers and students deserve."
Mr Bishop says work is set to begin in the next six months.
In total, 52 teaching spaces will be redeveloped at the following six schools:
- Kerikeri High School, Northland, 12 replacement classrooms
- Pinehill School (Browns Bay), Auckland, 3 replacement classrooms
- Hutt Intermediate, Wellington, 14 replacement classrooms
- Natone Park School, Wellington, 7 replacement classrooms and admin space
- Ashburton Intermediate, Canterbury, 8 replacement classrooms
- Maruawai College, Southland, 8 replacement specialist classrooms
