New Zealand has a lot of school pools, and many of them are getting old. Sport New Zealand’s National Aquatic Facilities Strategy counted 2,301 pools nationally in 2023, and 1,195 of them were at schools. Half of all the pools it counted were more than 50 years old.
Some schools have already let theirs go. Ministry of Education data released to Stuff under the Official Information Act showed more than 70 schools closed their pools from 2016 to early 2023, and three-quarters of those closures were at decile 1 to 5 schools, under the decile system the Equity Index has since replaced. That’s the latest national count Principals Today could find.
For a principal looking at a cracked shell or a tired filtration plant, the decision starts with who owns the pool. Since 1 October 2026 the rules have sat on the website of the New Zealand School Property Agency (NZSPA), the new agency that’s taken over the Ministry’s school property team.
What the funding rules say
If the Crown owns the pool, the board gets operational funding for day-to-day maintenance, calculated on the pool’s actual square metres. If the board or the community owns it, there’s no operational funding and the board covers the costs itself. NZSPA’s list of those costs includes chemicals, water and heating charges, water testing, the caretaker’s salary and training, painting, fence repairs and servicing the filtration plant.
Upgrades to a Crown-owned pool, such as resurfacing or replacing equipment, count as capital works. They’re paid from board funding or the school’s 5 Year Agreement, and NZSPA says significant pool upgrades are generally priority 4, or non-essential, so they may not be prioritised for funding. The School Building Insurance Funding Programme doesn’t cover damage to pools, their surrounds or associated facilities.
There’s no Crown funding to build a new pool or replace an old one, because a pool isn’t an essential under the School Property Guide. The board becomes the owner of any new or replacement pool and carries every cost from then on.
Money isn’t the only load. Pools must meet the water quality standard NZS 5826:2010, and a person holding NZQA unit standards in pool water quality must be available whenever the pool is open, or it can’t be used. Boards also need monthly microbiological testing by a laboratory and at least one supervisor present whenever the pool is in use.
The case for keeping it
An on-site pool takes transport out of the equation. In NZCER’s 2016 survey of aquatic education for Water Safety New Zealand, 58% of schools offering water-based lessons taught them in their own pool, and one respondent wrote that hiring a bus cost double the lessons themselves.
Of the 82 schools offering no water-based programme, 59% said they had no suitable or operational pool, the most common reason given.
A pool can also bring support. Water Safety NZ’s Water Skills for Life fund backs teacher-led lessons at schools with their own pool, including one-on-one sessions for kaiako still learning the programme. Schools need an Equity Index score of 446 or above, and those without a pool can get instructor-led sessions instead.
Repairs don’t always mean replacement either. Waipureku Clive Primary School in Hawke’s Bay received a $15,000 grant from New Zealand Community Trust in 2025 to fibreglass its ageing concrete pool, which needed frequent and expensive repainting. “Fibre glassing means we can keep this learning process happening for the next thirty years,” says principal Chris Birch.
Sharing it or letting it go
Sport NZ, the Crown agency for sport and recreation, wants school pools used more. Its strategy estimates community use of school pools averages 0.15 to 0.25 of a full-time facility and sets a goal of at least 0.5. It says partnerships can bring schools revenue, cost sharing, operational expertise and investment in deteriorating assets, backed by legally binding agreements on access, revenue and expenses.
Hamilton City Council already works this way, partnering with the outdoor pools at Te Rapa Primary School, Fairfield College, Hamilton Boys’ High School and Hillcrest Normal School for public summer swimming. The strategy also raises consolidating school pools into fewer, better ones, given what it calls the lack of Ministry operational support. Councils aren’t flush either, with the strategy noting they commonly fund about 70% of their own pools’ running costs.
Closing is the board’s call. To remove a Crown-owned pool, NZSPA says to talk to the property advisor at the regional office first, and boards should consult the school community. The Ministry told Stuff in 2023 that some schools spend operational funding on lessons at local facilities instead.
Whichever way the board goes, the lessons still have to happen somewhere.
Water Safety NZ’s Drowning Prevention Report 2025 counted 78 drowning deaths that year, three of them school-age children. The organisation says about 150,000 children miss out on quality water safety programmes, and ACC ended $1.1 million of funding in 2025 that had supported water-safety training for about 20,000 children a year. It’s seeking other funding from Government, corporates and philanthropists.
