School trustee role 'too hard for parents'

Trevor Mallard

An education trouble-shooter says schools have become complex businesses and are too complicated for parents to run.

Crown-appointed schools manager Peter Macdonald, the statutory manager of Aranui High, is calling for a review of Tomorrow's Schools, the policy implemented in 1989 which handed governance of schools to elected boards of trustees.

"One of the difficulties is that schools have become nothing more than complex businesses," Mr Macdonald said. "It's hardly surprising that parents don't have the ability to run them."

Mr Macdonald has been an appointed statutory manager at three Canterbury schools in the past three years after being called in to help boards negotiate through financial and employment difficulties.

He said it was increasingly obvious that board members, particularly those at schools in lower socio-economic areas, lacked the business management and employment law skills necessary to run a modern school.

Mr Macdonald believed the basic principle behind Tomorrow's Schools - putting the running of the school in the hands of the community - was a good one.

However, it was now necessary to revisit the idea and ensure parents were not being unfairly asked to grapple with complex issues well outside their experience.

He suggested setting up a pool of volunteer business experts who could be called on to provide advice on particular issues.

However, the School Trustees Association (STA) argues that setting up a pool of experts is unnecessary because there are already a range of support options available to boards.

The free-call help desk run by the association receives an average 7000 calls each month from board members seeking help on various issues.

In addition, the association employs 10 regional personnel and industrial experts, who take an average 1150 calls a month.

STA chairman Chris Haines said school boards were smart about using the wide range of support and training available.

"It's just a matter of going out there and getting the help they need," he said.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said the pool of experience available on some boards was a concern, but said a wide range of support options were available to boards.

"It is a concern but we've also got to acknowledge that communities are different, and when people are elected there will be skill set gaps and not all communities have the people in them that are available to fill those gaps."

When that occurred, boards had the legislative ability to co-opt up to four outside members to give specific advice on issues of concern.

- NZPA