School board sought ministry help

Former Tikipunga Primary School principal Donna Donnelly resigned at the end of Term 2 last year to become principal at Karamea Area School. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Northland primary school pleaded for Ministry of Education help after it discovered the former principal put seven staff on contracts which were not legally sound.

Documents released to the Northern Advocate under the Official Information Act show Tikipunga Primary School board of trustees chairman Graeme Bratty wrote to the ministry on December 4 last year seeking "urgent assistance".

"We have a number of ongoing issues but the last straw was finding recently the principal [who has since left] had engaged 7 staff on fixed-term agreements, none of which meet the legal test of including genuine reasons or reasonable grounds for being fixed term," Mr Bratty wrote.

Former principal Donna Donnelly, who resigned at the end of Term 2 last year, said she was unable to comment on the intervention and referred questions to Mr Bratty.

Some of those staff claimed they were promised permanency from 2015, he wrote. After the union challenged the validity of the agreements, the board was forced to identify four positions as surplus.

On December 18, the ministry put the school under official intervention and appointed Chris Saunders as limited statutory manager.

The action plan drawn up by Mr Saunders, dated February, found staff were "highly critical" of the board of trustees and the former principal.

Further documents released under the OIA show a complaint by teachers was made to Education Minister Hekia Parata in July 2012, which was then referred to the board.

The "serious concerns" included alleged intimidation and bullying of staff, unwillingness of the board to address issues, few opportunities for Maori learners, high turnover of staff and falling roll. Complaints were also made in 2011 and 2008.

Mr Bratty, who had been on the board for eight years, said the end of last year was a difficult time. Learning the fixed term contracts were not valid was "shocking", he said.

While the board had investigated the complaints, it was difficult as many of the teachers would not talk to the board, Mr Bratty said.

The action plan by Mr Saunders noted staff were positive about the arrival of new principal Cherise Wilson, who began at the start of the year.

"Communication with the staff has been difficult, mainly because of trust issues and factions in the staffroom," Mr Saunders wrote. "This problem already appears to have eased and the principal [Ms Wilson] is working hard to promote an open and transparent style of leadership."

"Everyone is looking at moving forward," Ms Wilson said.

Ms Donnelly left to become principal at Karamea Area School, which on March 26 was appointed a limited statutory manager. The appointment related to issues before Ms Donnelly's arrival.