How much Stanley Bay School spent on legal fees during principal Emma Tolmie’s leave

Stanley Bay School principal Emma Tolmie resigned at 5.30pm the day before school let out for the 2025 year.

A primary school in one of Auckland’s popular heritage suburbs was forced to spend thousands of its school funds during the employment dispute with its former principal.

Stanley Bay School principal Emma Tolmie had not been at the Devonport school since the board of trustees received a letter from teachers raising issues about her management style in May, the Herald revealed in December last year.

The letter was understood to have used the phrase “breaking point” to describe their wellbeing, and raised concerns about the way Tolmie interacted with some teachers, students and parents.

Tolmie’s resignation came just as school was about to break up for the year on December 15. She stepped down 12 hours after the Herald published details of the staff complaints.

The Stanley Bay school board confirmed $33,000 was spent on legal fees while Tolmie was on leave.

According to the 2024 financial report, this money makes up almost all of the school’s cash and cash equivalents.

It would almost fully fund the staff development, which cost the school $33,969 in 2024.

A spokesperson for the board said the costs were paid from the operational funding and cash reserves.

The spokesperson also said the Ministry of Education did not provide any additional funding towards the legal costs.

The Herald approached Tolmie for comment, but did not receive a response.

The board confirmed Helen Pelham started as acting principal on June 9. Tolmie was on leave until she resigned on December 15.

Former Stanley Bay School principal Emma Tolmie

The board refused to comment on whether a severance package was given to Tolmie, citing privacy reasons.

The board also said it would be considering the process for appointing a new principal during the board meeting on February 10.

The letter from the school’s small staff was sent to the board in May last year, raising a range of concerns, the Herald understands.

The letter was understood to be supported by all 14 staff.

In August, the school board’s minutes said they had received at least two emails from parents concerned about the lack of communication about leadership at the school.

The board said they were “extremely proud” of how their students and staff had begun the new year on Monday.

It boasted about a record number of international students starting at the school.

“This reflects strong confidence from families both on Auckland’s North Shore and from partner schools overseas, and we attribute this to the quality of our academic and cultural programmes.”

Tolmie was appointed principal of the school in 2023. She was previously deputy principal and special-education needs coordinator at Richmond Rd School in Grey Lynn and had held roles at Murrays Bay Intermediate and Mairangi Bay School.

According to the school’s 2024 Education Review Office (ERO) report, there are 223 children on the roll.

Ministry of Education leader for the north Isabel Evans told the Herald that the school board was responsible for all the employment decisions and confirmed the ministry did not fund the appointments.