School board stripped of power over refusal to enrol girl

4.00pm

A Tauranga school will be stripped of its authority to enrol students after it failed to meet a ministry deadline to accept a girl with behavioural problems.

Bellevue School was ordered by Education Minister Trevor Mallard to enrol six-year-old Lucy Wright by midday yesterday -- or lose control of managing enrolments.

Mr Mallard last week stepped into the row over Lucy after the school refused to obey an Education Ministry instruction to enrol her.

The school's board was told its refusal breached the Education Act.

Lucy suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and has not been in school for six months after leaving another Tauranga school. She has major behavioural problems and can be violent towards other children.

Her mother has had trouble trying to find a new school near home.

Bellevue was chosen by the ministry to enrol Lucy -- and the failure to meet yesterday's deadline automatically began the process to install a limited statutory manager.

The manager would take control of enrolments.

Murray Williams, the Education Ministry's manager for student support, said it would be the first time a limited statutory manager had been placed in a school as an result of an enrolment dispute.

The manager could be based at the school for a year or even longer. During that time, the board of trustees and principal would have no control over enrolments into the school.

"They put the school at risk because they failed to govern and manage," he said. "I didn't expect it to get this bad."

The ministry had offered Bellevue a resource package that included a full-time teacher aide for a month paid for by the ministry. After that, Lucy would have been entitled to further care and support in the classroom.

Bellevue chairman Steve Patton told the Bay of Plenty Times the board met briefly on Monday and planned to meet again tonight.

A letter from the board was sent to Bellvue parents last night outlining the board's stance.

School principal Ian Spraggon did not return calls.

Lucy has been out of school since September last year. She is noisy, inattentive and restless and can snap at a moment's notice. She can even be violent and aggressive. She has been known to fight, bite and scratch other children - and even on one occasion hit a teacher.

But she has never been expelled or stood down from school.

Her mother Vanessa Wright was sad to hear Bellevue had not met the deadline.

"I just feel really sad for my daughter," she said.

"She hasn't had a chance. We're becoming a society where schools can pick and choose their children."

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES