Complaint laid against minister
An Auckland-based charter school has made an official complaint to the Ministry of Education about associate education minister Kelvin Davis.
Villa Education Trust, which operates two charter schools in Auckland – one of which is in Davis’ electorate – laid a complaint with the ministry on Tuesday night about Davis’ visits to another charter school.
Davis has close personal ties with the He Puna Marama Trust, which runs Te Kura Hourua O Whangarei Terenga Paraoa, in Whangarei – part of Davis’ Te Tai Tokerau electorate.
On Tuesday Davis told media, ‘‘I’ve been working closely with He Puna Marama Trust, the CEO and the senior manager there and we’re very confident that together we’ll make sure this transition happens very easily with very little fuss.’’
Eleven charter schools are negotiating with the ministry to transition to another model of schooling, most likely designated character or integrated schools.
It comes on the back of the Labour-led Government’s promise to repeal charter school legislation.
Villa Education Trust spokesman Alwyn Poole raised concerns in an email to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins on Tuesday afternoon about what involvement Davis had in the negotiations between charter schools and the ministry.
‘‘Chris, you have refused to speak to us because this is in process, and you have stated that all negotiations are the role of the Ministry officials.
‘‘Can you explain then why Kelvin Davis [associate Minister of Education] had been speaking to He Puna Marama and with the full knowledge of the Prime Minister,’’ he wrote.
Davis was aware of the complaint but didn’t think there was any conflict of interest.
‘‘There’s no favouritism. I am the member of parliament for the area so I engage with schools throughout my electorate,’’ he said.
Hipkins said all of the responsibility around any decisions to do with the future of charter schools sat with him as education minister and not Davis.
Ardern said it was clear to her that Davis has a ‘‘close connection’’ to a school in his area.
‘‘The issue we have is that Kelvin Davis has been drawn into the debate on many occasions because he’s spoken strongly on the need to make sure students in Northland are well represented in the debate and discussion,’’ she said.
Ministry of Education secretary Iona Holsted told MPs at an education select committee yesterday that the complaint she’d received on Tuesday night related to Davis.
Poole said Hipkins made it ‘‘incredibly clear’’ it was for the ministry to negotiate with schools but then Davis said he was working extremely closely with one in his electorate.
‘‘He seems blissfully unaware that both ourselves and Vanguard are in his electorate.’’