Schools spend up on staff and trips

Auditors find expenditure included gift of $8500 ride-on mower, $7000 party and $250,000 on Pacific visit

Aschool given a “smack over the wrist” for buying its departing principal gifts worth $10,000 has defended its decision after being identified in an Auditor-General’s report.

Kingsford School in Mangere was among a number of schools whose spending was highlighted in the report. The audit said schools spent money on overseas travel, a $7000 staff party and gifts, including a rideon mower and “wellbeing” payments.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that while she had not seen the report, the spending as described sounded “hugely surprising given the environment our schools are operat- ing in”.

She added: “Unless that ride-on lawnmower was given to him so he could chop the fields of that school, I would be very surprised by that.”

Kingsford School Board of Trustees chairwoman Helen TePania said the decile 1 school was “smacked on the wrist” by the auditor-general over the leaving gift of $10,000 of vouchers to principal Rex Buckley.

“When Rex first started we had no reserves . . . but when he left . . . we had over half a million in reserve,” she said. “If we want a new programme, the money's available.”

TePania said the school was “very careful with money”. Puhinui School board gave its prin

cipal of 30 years, Kevin Hornby, a $8500 ride-on mower as a leaving gift. Puhinui's board of trustees chairman, Les Waimotu, declined to comment to the Herald before speaking with the current principal.

Noting a large number of settlement payments by schools, the Office of the Auditor-General has recommended the Ministry of Education improve its guidance on the giving of gifts and settlement processes.

The ministry told Newstalk ZB it would be following up with the Blockhouse Bay Intermediate Board of Trustees after $7000 spent on a farewell party and $3000 on a leaving gift for the principal. The report also found the school

used $3700 col- lected victims.

The vast majority of schools received standard audit reports, although 29 were judged to have serious financial difficulties, including Wanganui Collegiate School, St Patrick's College Silverstream and Waiheke Primary School.

The auditors also learned about several “relatively small” incidents of fraud where schools decided not to tell relevant enforcement agencies.

“The school often did not tell the ministry about these either. In these instances, the employee paid back the amounts . . . and the school dismissed the employee. We are aware that some of these employees then moved to other schools.” specifically for Fiji flood

Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Hoani Waititi Marae sent 251 students, staff and caregivers to Rarotonga. After fundraising and family contributions, the school funded the shortfall of nearly $250,000 — which contributed to its deficit.

Manurewa West School paid for five staff to visit Kuala Lumpur in 2016 as part of a tour of schools in Singapore, and no evidence of educational outcomes was presented to the board for this part of the trip.

The same school made extra payments to its principal without the required ministry approval. These included home broadband and phone and “wellbeing payments”.