‘Battle lines drawn’, says group behind Kelston Boys’ charter school bid

Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust aims to convert Kelston Boys’ High School to a charter school. Photo / Google Maps

By Kim Baker Wilson of RNZ

The group behind a bid to change an Auckland school to a charter school against its will says battle lines have been drawn and it is no longer taking feedback on its proposal.

Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust and a former board member, Siaosi Gavet, want to convert Kelston Boys’ High School.

The school itself says it’s an unsupported bid that it doesn’t endorse, and it’s not wanted by senior leaders or staff.

The trust has consultation open until midnight on Friday.

But in a document posted on its website, it says the school’s open letter it put on social media ends that consultation.

“The letter attracted the expected, sometime abusive, responses from a small minority of parents and rather more responses from those with less engagement with the school,” it said.

“In our view it ends consultation as the acting-principal has drawn self-serving battle lines.”

RNZ understands this is not the trust’s first application for conversion; it applied to run a charter school in the first round but was unsuccessful.

Anatomy of charter school takeover bid

News of takeover bids is nothing unusual in the business world.

But the takeover case playing out in Auckland is unusual because it doesn’t involve a business, but a public school.

Kelston Boys’ High says it’s a school with long-standing traditions and all-round excellence in developing exemplary young men.

It took out the World Schools’ Rugby Festival in Abu Dhabi and lists several of what it says are distinguished former students.

But a former board member says the school is not doing good enough, and that’s where what amounts to a hostile takeover bid comes in.

Gavet and the Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust have lodged an application to convert it to a charter school, and are aiming to have it done by the new year.

It’s normally a school itself that puts itself up to be converted to a charter school.

But this time it’s outsiders, and the school doesn’t want it.

Who can apply to be a charter school?

Charter schools need a sponsor, and that sponsor is approved by the Charter School Authorisation Board to operate a school.

But it doesn’t have to be the school - an application can be put in by a school’s board “or one or more members of a school community together with a prospective sponsor”.

In this case, Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust is teaming up with Gavet.

Support will be taken into account - Authorisation Board

The authorisation board then considers an application, and must also consider how much support there is from the community.

When converting an existing school instead of setting up a school from scratch, the same board must also consult with the community to find out how much support there is.

That means talking with the existing school board, the school community, staff, students and anyone else the board thinks could help.

Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust said it has been doing consulting itself. Its own consultation period was originally due to close at midnight, though the trust said the consultation had now finished.

Whether to green or red light an application comes down to the Charter Schools Authorisation Board.

The Charter Schools Authorisation Board confirmed to RNZ an application had been received from Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust.

“Any potential sponsor is required to demonstrate the level of support for the proposed conversion as part of its application, board chair Justine Mahon said.

“If there is insufficient support, the board must take this into account,” Mahon said.

“At this stage staff, whānau, students, and the wider community can provide feedback on the proposal to convert,” it said.

Who is Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust?

The trust says it is a “by youth, for youth” charity with a board made up of Pasifika and Māori under the age of 25.

It says its goal is to help youth, especially Pasifika and Māori, with learning and training.

Gavet, meanwhile, is chief executive and co-founder of Pro-Pare Management Trust, which says it is a youth development service for young people who like sport.

In an emailed response to questions from RNZ, Gavet said a charter school would give more flexibility to better influence curriculum and resources.

“Basically with more freedom to operate within a modern learning environment,” he said.

“We would like to reset the narrative, so to speak, and involve the school community as much as we possibly can, by giving them a voice at our advisory board meetings, to name just one example.”

In their application, the trust and Gavet said teachers support the charter school plan but don’t want to speak out.

In his response to RNZ, Gavet has “found generally there to be opposition”.

“For those who are supportive but choose to remain anonymous, we completely understand that,” he said.

He told RNZ he respected the school’s decision to post its opposition on social media.

“That is its right. I understand why people are cautious, change is unsettling. In our view it’s about our community and shaping education that works for our young men and our community.”

Gavet said he and the trust were now waiting on direction on what to do next from the Authorisation Board.

Meanwhile, the trust says Kelston Boys’ opposition letter “makes the choice clear”.

“On the one hand the school continues on its current path where NCEA Level 3 is accepted as the leaving qualification and the school does very well in sports,” it said.

“On the other hand, if the school converts, academic achievement lifts and the school continues to do well in activities outside the classroom.”

The school responds

In an email, Kelston Boys’ High said it was in the middle of celebrating its sporting and academic successes with senior prize giving: “The focus should be our students and their families at this time.”

The school said its letter to parents and caregivers outlined its “position, legacy and trajectory”.

“Any further questions can be asked at a later date, as we honour the achievements of our amazing akōnga and their whānau,” the school told RNZ.

Labour MP for Kelston Carmel Sepuloni. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Education Minister Erica Stanford said she was aware of situation, had reached out to the principal, and had referred them to the Ministry of Education to work closely with the school to get the support they need.

Labour MP for Kelston, Carmel Sepuloni, also said she was aware of the situation: “This a concerning issue that has been raised with me as local MP by the school. I’ve since spoken with the Minister of Education, who has assured me she’d look into this.”

-RNZ