About 100 Hutt Valley High School students turned the front lawn of Parliament into a make-shift study space today to protest the state of their school buildings.
Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen with Hutt Valley High School head students, Charlotte Leach and Patrick Maslen. Photo: Dom Thomas
Dangerous levels of toxic mould found in classrooms last term have forced the closure of 16 teaching spaces and other facilities and forced about 500 students to study from home half the week.
Unwilling to miss further school time, students brought along folding chairs, picnic rugs and even a couple of tables, unpacking textbooks, tablets and art projects - and requested the Parliamentary wifi password, which was written on a whiteboard.
Then they put their heads down and worked while juggling interviews with reporters and MPs looking for photo opportunities.
Head girl Charlotte Leach said they wanted to bring home for MPs the impact the leaky building problem was having on students.
"It's a bit scary for us, I guess, but also for the teachers because we come in and out of that block but the teachers, the English Department have been in there all day every day for years."
For many students who had already suffered disruption due to the pandemic last year, it was a real blow, she said.
"For the Year 13s, this is our final year at school.
"We never expected that we would be forced to spend it at home rather than in our classes, learning in the same rooms as our teachers and our friends. The next few months are going to be unsettling for many students."
Head boy Patrick Maslen said Hutt Valley was not the only school in the country to have infrastructure problems due to "systematic under-funding" of state schools over several years.
"It's not a privilege to have warm insulated classrooms, you shouldn't have to ask for it."
Students get on with their work outside Parliament. Photo: Dom Thomas
High levels of toxic mould were discovered in March, after air testing requested by the school two-and-a-half years ago finally took place.
Teachers in C Block were given 30 minutes to clear their desks before the whole building was sealed off.
Parent worried about health effects
An area affected by mould and leakage problems. Photo: Supplied
Parent Megan Drayton said she was worried about the potential health effects, with some staff reporting lung problems.
"I'm pretty shocked about it to be honest and not happy at all. My son has been in that building for four years several times a week. We just don't know what they've been breathing in in those years. That's the terrible thing, I think."
Miranda Cross, who has four children at the school, said staff and the board have been pushing for more than a decade for funding to fix the leaky roofs.
While the worst affected building, Block C, was now slated for demolition, the school wanted a firm timeline for its replacement, she said.
"We need a commitment in terms of timeframe and funding arrangements for the rebuild. We don't want those temporary prefabs to become permanent. We've got prefabs that have been there for 40 years."
The prefabs, which are due to be installed in August, would also make sections of the field and sports grounds out of bounds, she said.
National's education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith admitted there were long-standing issues with school infrastructure but says the current government can't blame its predecessor now.
"I'm tired of excuses and I think these kids here are tired of those sort of excuses too, they just want classrooms over their heads.
"Four years into government, you have to take responsibility, and with the massive amount of money that's been spent over the two or three years, you've got to focus on the basics.
"That means when you have a crisis like this, you respond quickly, and get the kids back into the classroom as quickly as you can."
The government needs to take responsibility and fix the problems at Hutt Valley High School, Paul Goldsmith says. Photo: RNZ / Nick Munro
Hutt Labour MP Ginny Andersen said the school had endured "awful learning conditions" for a long time and she also wanted to see a time-frame for the rebuild.
"I'm probably less inclined to want to point a finger to which government did it, but more focused on future outcomes to ensure our community has a high school that's operating."
Acting principal Denise Johnson said since the mould was discovered in March, ministry officials have been brilliant, working with teachers to keep students connected and organising prefab classrooms, which will arrive in August.
She fully supported the students' action.
"They're pretty keen that we get a commitment for the future. They've got brothers and sisters and cousins who will be coming to this school.
"There are prefabs out there that have been there for 30 or 40 years and we'd like a commitment that this is not going to be a prefab school going into the future."
A public meeting hosted by Andersen will be held at the school tonight so the school community can hear directly from ministry officials about its plans for the rebuild.