'Powerless' school board walks out

Maungakaramea Primary School school's board of trustees has resigned.

A commissioner is to step in to manage Maungakaramea Primary School after the school's board of trustees resigned.

The walkout on May 19 followed an extended period of tension between the six-person board and school principal Kathryn Edward.

The board comprised four parents, a teacher and the school principal. The teacher representative has also resigned from working at the school after 11 years. The Maungakaramea roll fell from 81 in March 2011 to 49 in March this year.

Ms Edward was unable to speak to the Northern Advocate about the board's resignation or the school's situation.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) confirmed it is in the process of appointing a commissioner for the school, which sits 19km southwest of Whangarei.

Katrina Casey, MoE head of sector enablement and support, says a commissioner is always appointed when a board resigns so that governance of the school is maintained until the school is ready to elect a new board of trustees.

The school first requested governance support in February this year, via the New Zealand Schools Trustees Association (NZSTA).

"When difficulties arise in the governance and leadership relationship in a school, the first support is usually provided by NZSTA," Ms Casey said.

"If the issues cannot be resolved, the ministry may use a statutory intervention to manage the issues."

The ministry would only intervene if there were risks to the operation of the school, to student achievement or to student welfare and safety.

Boards of trustees were responsible for all employment matters in schools, Ms Casey said. But former chairwoman Leanne Cordeaux said the board had resigned because trustees felt powerless to implement changes in management style and were unable to support staff.

Ms Cordeaux said the mass resignation had forced the ministry to take seriously the board's concerns that "our hands are tied behind our back.

"We have the role of supporting staff but we can't do that. We cannot override the school principal in decision-making. We could not do our job."

Ms Cordeaux said the breakdown in the relationship between the school and surrounding community had been sorely felt. Some children whose parents had moved them from the school were fourth-generation pupils.