Hefty financial woes have forced Otorohanga College to shut its boarding hostel

The Waikato school's board say they've kept it afloat using money allocated for operating costs for the past four years.

It's lost almost 600-thousand-dollars in running costs since 2019.

Board Chair Duncan Coull says out of social conscience they've continued to give boarders access to quality education.

He says they're at a point where they need to rebuild, but with a declining rural population, it's unsustainable.