In boards we trust

Edward Rooney | 4th February 2010

Tomorrow's Schools, the system of elected school boards dominated by parent representatives, is 21 years old. This year, we elect a new crop of boards - the country's largest electoral process. Edward Rooney checks the boards' report card.

Introducing controversial national education standards, negotiating with lawyers and councils about leaky buildings, being confronted in the street by a parent who's angry their child has been suspended.

Who'd do a job like that for no pay? Well, 15,000 of you would, it seems. According to most experts, you're doing a world-class job. Some quarters, however, want to ring the bell on the system and bring in a change.

Let's start our review of the school board regime on a positive note. Ian Kaihe's eyes glisten with barely restrained joy as he walks into Clendon Park Primary School for the first time this year.

The chairman of the board of trustees is excited about seeing the staff, particularly principal Sue Dawson; almost as much as showing The Aucklander how the decile 1b school has grown under the board's guidance from 300 pupils five years ago to 550 today. "We've listened to the community and they have got behind us," he glows.

This is election year for trustees and Mr Kaihe is standing again, despite the youngest of his 27 (yes, that's correct) foster children having gone on to intermediate and beyond.

He can't speak highly enough of the Manurewa school and the almost 50 per cent Maori neighbourhood that embraces a gay man as their school board chairman.

He was a teacher when David Lange's Labour government introduced Tomorrow's Schools in 1989, but moved into Maori healthcare where he felt his skills were needed.

"This is where my heart is now," he says, eyes sizzling like sparklers as he gazes around the school courtyard.

"I started, like most parents, out of a commitment to my children to get the best education I could for them.

"But, if it's a good board like this one, you quickly find your scope broadens to all children in the community - and even to a national and global responsibility for all children."

Mr Kaihe says a school board works well when there is mutual respect. With a large board of 11 members, Clendon Park has prospered and flourished in recent years and he can see little cause for change.

That's not the case for all boards. Those that descend into bickering often find themselves in the newspapers.

Parents withdraw their children and the Ministry of Education is forced to intervene, in extreme situations sacking boards and putting commissioners in charge.

Despite those cases, School Trustees Association president Lorraine Kerr says the system has only just begun to mature and doesn't need changing. Many boards have third or fourth term trustees who've become well equipped for the duty.

"My view is that these people are not volunteers, even though they are not paid to be on the board. I say these people are working pro bono."

Chris France, the Auckland coordinator for the association, has studied international models of school governance and believes firmly in the Kiwi regime: "Sure, we have a handful of interventions each year, which receive a fair amount of attention.

"But the actual numbers are surprisingly low. For the most part, we run a relatively low-key system on a very small budget."

Mr France says there can be friction within boards, and externally with the Ministry of Education, but this pales in comparison with what happens in other parts of the world. He cites the US experience.

"The Americans introduced a system called 'no child left behind' about 10 years ago and that has led to a battle that's still going today."

US schools are resisting what they consider federal government interference and this has been compounded by President Barack Obama's "race to the top" grants initiative which is also administered at federal level.

"Here," says Mr France, "the Government sets guidelines - like the national standards - the ministry then sets curriculum to deliver that and then boards ask the principal what results it is achieving."

In the United States more areas are adopting district education boards, such as in Iowa, which can have one board governing more than 10 schools.

Ms Kerr wouldn't like New Zealand to move towards district boards. "The part I like, and I'm a trustee myself, is that parents have a say in their children's education."

Karen Gibson has chaired the Pakuranga College board for nine years. She plans to stand for one more term as her youngest child is 17.

With a roll of 2100 kids from about 55 nationalities, the college is listed as one of the top-performing, high-decile (8) schools. Among the general governance issues for any school of this size and demographic, Pakuranga's board has leaky-building problems to contend with.

"It's a pretty small site, so squeezing prefab buildings in to make up for areas that are needing repairs has been pretty hard on the kids and the staff," Mrs Gibson says. "But it's just got to be done."

Making budgets fit is the constant challenge. "You've got resources this big," she says, her palms about 20cm apart, "and you've got a list this big," holding her arms out as if indicating a giant snapper that got away.

Buildings and grounds are the part of the board's work that everyone can see, but much more time is spent setting a vision for the school and making sure decisions fit that vision. "For example, over the past nine years we've had seven major appointments of either assistant principals or principals. You need to have a clear idea of where you want the school to go in order to hire the right people to take it there."

Disciplinary issues for students or staff are the jobs everyone likes the least, but they can often have positive outcomes. "You must make sure that the principles of natural justice apply at every instance. Remember, it could be you, as a parent, sitting on the other side."

For that and other reasons, school boards are good places to enter politics. Mrs Gibson has found her feet while lobbying on behalf of the college and students.

"I rang Project K and they said, 'Your kids don't qualify'. I said I could see three kids that do qualify from where I was sitting at that moment. I can't imagine having done that 10 years ago, or standing up in front of 300 people and speaking without my legs giving way under me."

However, the time needed to be on a school board is substantial and Mrs Gibson believes she could not hold down a full-time job while doing it. "I have a very understanding family. They've put up with chicken burgers far more often than they should have."

Mrs Gibson doesn't like the idea of one board overseeing schools in her area. But not far away, at Pigeon Mountain Primary School in Half Moon Bay, board chairman Gerard Keenan sees merits, particularly to provide continuity from pre-school to college.

"Clusters of boards and schools are starting to happen. For example, the primary school works with the pre-school organisations in our area to ensure that the children have the necessary basics for primary school.

"I am sure this happens within a number of school clusters. Moving from an ad hoc approach to a strategic one would be worth considering."

Another who's open to the prospect of change is Pukekohe High School's two-term chairman Trevor Gill. He's enjoyed the sight of newly-refurbished buildings, and at prizegivings is heartened for all the students, but a number of things have frustrated him.

"You've got a number of interests in the students, parents, heavily unionised teachers, ethnic groups, management. There are so many groups and some will sideline you if you're not careful."

Other bugbears have been having a student representative sitting in on sensitive board discussions, and slow-moving bureaucracy.

He's "up in the air" about standing again this year but enthused by the sound of the Iowa-style education boards. "I think Pukekohe would be a great place to pilot that. I do think something needs to change.

"We've got $50 million worth of assets, 120 staff and a turnover of about $8-9 million. You don't have a popularity contest to run that sort of operation."

But he'd have a hard job to convince Education Minister Anne Tolley of that.

"The main objective of the Tomorrow's Schools reforms to educational administration was to give parents and communities the opportunity to have an effective say in how their children are educated, and to support local schools to meet particular local aspirations. Over the last 20 years that objective has been achieved in most schools," she told The Aucklander.

Ms Tolley says New Zealand has tried boards governing a number of schools before. "We moved away from that model with a view to giving local communities an effective say over education in local schools. The New Zealand model is innovative, provokes wide interest internationally, and is working."

Setting the standards

Every state and integrated school in New Zealand has a board of trustees. The board is a Crown entity, is the employer of all school staff and sets the strategic direction. The principal is the board's chief executive and manages the school operations in line with the board's policies. Boards are usually made up of:

• 3-7 elected parent representatives
• 1 principal
• 1 elected staff representative
• Plus up to six co-opted trustees and a student representative for schools with students above Year 9.

Parent representatives do not necessarily have children at the school. They are elected by parents who have one postal vote each regardless of how many children they have enrolled. A large list of what makes candidates ineligible is covered in Sections 103 and 10a of the Education Act 1989.

From this week, schools will have to measure students against benchmarks for reading, writing and mathematics and report the results to parents. The system has come under fire from teacher unions and academics for the speed of its implementation and the effects it could have on children falling behind. Boards have been ordered by Education Minister Anne Tolley to make sure it happens.

Put your hand up

The call for school board nominations will go out on March 15. Contact your local school for more details about standing for election. Nominations close at noon on April 23.