Review causing board election uncertainty

THE Tomorrow’s Schools review is creating an air of uncertainty around school board of trustee elections this year.

If proposed changes go ahead, it could have a significant impact on the way boards of trustees operate.

While the New Zealand School Trustees’ Association (NZSTA) says the proposed changes would have an impact in the future, it is continuing to encourage parents to stand in upcoming elections.

The Ministry of Education’s review of Tomorrow’s Schools (the name given to the reforms that dramatically changed the governance, management and administration of New Zealand schools nearly 30 years ago) is proposing 20 education hubs across the country, each overseeing about 125 schools.

The hubs would look after aspects such as property management, health and safety issues, IT advice and HR, although some functions could be delegated back to school boards of trustees.

The hubs would also appoint principals, although boards could have vetoes.

Hubs would also have responsibility for pupil suspensions and expulsions, and parent complaints.

The proposals aim to share governance resources and expertise between schools.

However, NZSTA president Lorraine Kerr said if the proposed initiatives were implemented, they would eventually have an impact on the number of people standing for their local school boards.

‘‘You can’t make boards responsible for something without any accountability.

‘‘So why would boards take on the responsibility of planning and reporting, student achievement, community engagement — when actually, there’s no accountability.

‘‘Boards can do all of these things, but if the hub chooses to ignore all that, where’s the comeback on that?’’

She said hubs already existed in some parts of New Zealand, and they worked well.

But the review process had not clearly identified what the new hubs would look like.

‘‘There’s notions of members of the community, ministerial appointments, iwi members, a whole lot of people. And you would need to wonder why all these people are in there.

‘‘That’s no disrespect to their knowledge or who they are.

‘‘But if you’re going to have a hub that’s going to take care of the whole education system, that’s a different ball game.’’

She said the lack of information about proposed changes meant it was impossible to determine how much of an impact it would have on school boards.

‘‘What I would hate to see is that people panic or reacting negatively to the situation.

‘‘For the time being, it is very important that we carry on — business as usual — for the sake of our schools.’’

She said school trustee elections involved the largest number of candidates and voters of any democratic process in New Zealand.

Every three years, state and stateintegrated school communities elect their parent and staff trustees to help govern their schools.

‘‘We need more people willing to use their skills and experiences for the benefit of students.

‘‘We need an education system where all children are expected to succeed and one where we all take shared responsibility in ensuring this happens.

Elections are expected to take place between May 17 and June 21. Schools can be contacted for a nomination form.