Nelson Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
Wednesday 3 July 2019
School looks to the future
Shake up for rep rugby
Page 8
Page 25
Carnage on Bridge Street
Nelson school spending revealed
‘It was the most violent minute I’ve ever dealt with’
Kate Russell Charles Anderson
New school spending data reveals the “huge” funding gap between what is provided by the Government and what is required by schools to operate a modern curriculum, a Nelson principal says. The data, released under the Official Information Act, comes from spending details for every Government-funded school in New Zealand in 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available. The Nelson data over the past five years show the biggest increase in spending comes from Nelson College for Girls, whose spending went from $10.4 million in 2012 to $12.2 million in 2017, a $1.8 million increase. However, principal Cathy Ewing says that rise is partially due to its Preparatory School and Young Parents’ School not being accounted for until after 2012. Nelson College went from $12.9 - $13.9 million, Nayland College from $10.3 - $11.2 million and Waimea College from $12.8 - $14.2 million. Nayland College principal Daniel Wilson says the data shows that there is a “huge” funding gap between what is provided by the government and what is required from schools to operate a modern curriculum. “Nayland College, like most large high schools, relies on international student fees and locally raised funds in order to provide more than just the bare necessities. Without this income we would have much larger class sizes, have only the minimum of equipment such as digital
Luke King was set upon by a group of men in a Bridge St bar two weeks ago. Photo: Charles Anderson.
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Luke King was working at a Bridge Street bar when he noticed a puddle of liquid running past his feet. He looked up and saw a man chuckling to himself, and went up to him. “You can’t do that,” Luke said. “You just pissed on the floor.” The man turned to him and said: “You have a problem?” The man had been part of a group of 20-odd people all drinking at the bar at about 11pm two Fridays ago. Before he knew it, Luke was surrounded by the man’s friends – then one of them tried to headbutt him. He missed, but then they all piled on as Luke tried to stay standing. “All his mates were all in. It would have been the most violent minute I’ve ever dealt with.” Every time he popped up, he got hit in the face. Someone tried to cut him with a glass. The swelling has only recently gone down. CCTV footage seen by the Nelson Weekly confirms Luke’s account. Eventually, punters and staff managed to drag the men off each other but not before some of the females of the group
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