07/12/2023
Clarification: NOT A MERGER
Kia ora koutou. There is some confusion regarding some of the technical aspects of this process. Whilst this appears to be a merger on the face of it due to the use of the same property, it is not a merger.
A merger would maintain one of the board of trustees, maintain majority of the staff, offer first rights of employment to existing staff, retain student information, and retain non-capital assets such as teaching resources (paper-based) and intellectual property.
This is the CLOSURE OF TWO SCHOOLS, and the ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW SCHOOL.
A closure means all staff are terminated and all student information is either archived with the Ministry of Education or destroyed.
The new school has no relationship with the closed schools except, through the ministry of education, the inheritance of the assets of the closed schools.
It is illegal for the closed schools to transfer any student information due to the privacy act without expressed written permission from caregivers.
Melville High School has worked hard to meet the legal obligations of a closing school to archive or destroy private student and staff information. It has been a long and harrowing process that staff have had to accomplish whilst maintaining their existing teaching load.
Students intending to study at Mangakootukutuku College must enroll themselves as the closing schools lack the legal authority to do so on their behalf.
