KEY POINTS:
On a Thursday lunchtime at Selwyn College a soccer ball is being kicked around and a good-natured ruckus has developed over whether a free-kick should have been awarded.
Inside the school, a far bigger row has erupted. It's conducted with less shouting and shoving, but is anything but
good natured. And it has the potential to be the most significant fallout in the school's history.
Two implacably opposed camps - each with a view of how the school should be run - have brought the board of trustees to an effective standstill.
They disagree on discipline, academic focus and the quality of education. At the heart of the matter is one of the lowest Year 9 intakes in the school's history - including just 15 per cent of secondary age children who live in the natural catchment area.
And with the looming trustee elections, each side is lobbying to win a stronger presence on the board.
If one group can stamp its authority, it is in a position to make fundamental changes to the way the school is run. Boards control the money, the direction and the ethos of a school. They have enough power to remove a principal from office.
The deterioration in board relations led the Ministry of Education to step in just a few weeks before the crucial trustee elections. It has appointed a specialist adviser to help heal the rift. Significantly, the ministry is allowing the elections to go ahead to see whether the new board can agree on a united front.
The question for Selwyn College is which view will be the united one.
"It's a battleground for the future of education here and the philosophy behind it," says board chairman Dr John Hinchcliff.
Hinchcliff was co-opted on to the board two years ago. It was hoped his long experience in education and governance could broker peace between the warring factions. By his own admission he has failed.
"The big thing is how the heck we get a united board. I've not been successful in bringing it together and we all hope it can be achieved."
The issues facing Selwyn College are not new. The decile five school straddles an awkward divide: on the one side are conservative strongholds of the eastern suburbs, Meadowbank, Kohimarama, Mission Bay and parts of St Heliers, and on the other Glen Innes, Tamaki and parts of Orakei.
The school has no enrolment scheme, but many children of well-heeled parents are effectively zoned for the school by being excluded from the zones of Auckland Grammar and Glendowie College.
But it is too simplistic to draw a battle line between the perceived upmarket suburbs and those of a lower socio-economic standing.
Similarly, it is naive to paint the opposing sides in broad brushstrokes of the wealthy, white middle class versus the poorer multicultural neighbourhoods. Those sitting on the 10-member Selwyn board all want the best for their kids and their school.
But they have different views on how to achieve it.
The stalwarts of Selwyn have forged a group with a common goal - that of creating a unique school, with an inclusive, liberal attitude.
On the other side are those who feel Selwyn is failing to cater for the academically gifted, choosing to focus on arts and placing less emphasis on other subjects and sport.
Both sides have found a place on a divided board of trustees and have struggled to reach agreement in meeting after meeting.
"It [disagreement] surfaces in just about every issue the school faces," says Hinchcliff.
"There's probably 20 or 30 areas where there's different disjunction between these mindsets."
The model under which schooling in New Zealand operates is that the governing body - a democratically elected team of community representatives - runs the school according to the needs and aspirations of its community.
The key point of contention is whether Selwyn meets those needs - and it has become a major bugbear for the Ministry of Education.
The figures do not look good. At the start of last year just 11 students from a cohort of 59 who left St Thomas' School, which is directly across the road from Selwyn College, went to Selwyn. Some of the leavers would have been zoned for Glendowie College.
Only five students went to Selwyn from the next closest school, Kohimarama, last year and there were just 22 out of 400 from Remuera Intermediate - where at least half the Meadowbank pupils go after their primary schooling. Orakei School fared better with 11 of 13 students heading to Selwyn this year.
The ministry predicts the 2007 figure for new intakes could be as low as 100, which would be the lowest in the school's history. In 2004, that figure was 212. And ministry figures suggest only about 30 of the 300 secondary age students living in the immediate catchment actually attend Selwyn.
The college board recognises it is a problem which must be addressed. The board charter says it must "substantially improve enrolment from the local contributing schools of St Thomas, Kohimarama, Meadowbank and Orakei Primary by 2008 year".
Principal Carol White has been to at least one meeting with parents of Kohimarama School, but there are different stories as to how it went.
Some say she was unprepared and failed to represent the school effectively. Others say she was hung out to dry in front of a hostile crowd primed to criticise the school.
The falling roll is one of the chief issues the ministry's specialist adviser has been appointed to investigate. Alan Burton, a one-time teacher at Selwyn College, is also there to deal with conflict among board members and the community's lack of confidence in the quality of education.
His first board meeting was on Wednesday night and about 100 parents and teachers were there.
What was clear was that the board and White have the backing of the teachers.
A vote of confidence in the principal was passed unanimously and she was roundly applauded for the Order of New Zealand Merit she was awarded in the New Year's Honours List.
There was also spontaneous applause for English teacher Rachel Purchas who said many staff were "mystified" as to why there was intervention in a school that was doing "an incredible job for some disadvantaged students and also some who are remarkably talented".
What was also clear was that the "disjunctions" - while probably a close reflection of Selwyn's community - have made it all-but impossible to reach agreement on the board's core business.
Relationships with other schools are argued over, academic reports disputed, and there are accusations and counter-accusations of subterfuge and hidden agendas.
Last year a board chairman was deposed and a petition signed by teachers called for an end to his involvement in the school. One board member has threatened legal action against others.
Allan Peachey's involvement may also have muddied the waters. The Tamaki MP, and former Rangitoto College principal, has told the school it must improve the quality of education.
Inevitably that has led to a backlash. Selwyn sits in a National electorate and there have been accusations of extreme right wing involvement.
The divisions were evident on Wednesday night.
Of the five parent representatives on the board, three are comfortable with the liberal approach Selwyn is known for, although they admit there needs to be improvements.
Two believe there needs to be a major overhaul.
The first group - Tur Borren, Petronella Townsend and Dorothy Brown - thinks the second is disruptive. The second group - Brent Williams and Alan Patterson-Kane - say the first is resistant to change and unwilling to face the problems the college has.
They want a boost to academic achievement, improved sports and a clampdown on student behaviour.
Borren, a gold medallist at the 1976 Olympic Games and now an investment banker, told the Herald he would not be standing for re-election, as his daughters have left the school.
It is understood Brown is also planning to stand down. Townsend, wife of former Progressive MP Matt Robson, will stand again.
Williams and Patterson-Kane, himself a teacher, are both intending to stand again.
The pair, with other board members, have been told not to speak to the Herald. But their views are clearly represented among the community.
James Hoskins has three daughters at Kohimarama School and has become involved with the website Vision Selwyn.
The pro-change site says it is dedicated to building a school that is the "first choice for students in the community" rather than those who travel from other parts of the city.
Hoskins says what the school should be is open to debate, but it must be what parents want and not what the school wants to offer. And not the niche offering that is there now.
"There's no reason we should not have a Macleans College, if that's what parents round here want."
Another parent of Kohimarama pupils, Kevin Worth, says the school has "fantastic potential" but he is concerned it is not a "safe environment".
But there is also support in the community.
Among the people at Wednesday's meeting was George Burrell who has two sons at the school. The Mt Wellington software consultant has begun lobbying for election to the board and is a firm follower of the existing Selwyn philosophy.
He says the communities of Kohimarama, St Thomas and Meadowbank would never fill the school roll.
"Even if Selwyn turned into a 'grammar school' there would still be a high draw-off to the private school system from this extremely wealthy area."
He believes Selwyn will always be "too diverse" for some, but says it continues to teach the National Curriculum and conform to National Education Guidelines. "Education is all about the child and this school is better at focusing on the needs of its kids than any other I've seen."
Burrell has started producing Positively Selwyn newsletters as antidote to the Vision Selwyn website and to campaign for a seat on the board.
Hannah Blackmore was also at Wednesday's meeting. Her daughter has left Selwyn and gone on to university study.
She suggests that newsletters, websites and campaigns are not always constructive and has her own advice for parents.
"Rumour and scaremongering is frightening parents off. They don't even come to the school to see for themselves and that's what they need to do."
If they did, it is likely most parents would see a happy ship. There is little doubt that Selwyn is doing some good work. Equally, some say it is not good enough.
At the board meeting, Borren said the intervention was not a reflection on the school, but on the problems within the board.
"If you have a maverick board member or two what can you do about it if they do a lot of damage like we've experienced?"
Whether the opposing sides have done damage or helped fire a useful debate remains to be seen.
And whether one side or another is able to dominate the board after the trustee election also remains to be seen. Results are announced in early April.
Only one thing is certain. Education Minister Steve Maharey wants a board that can function and a school that meets the needs of its community.
The community has to agree on what those needs are.
