Waitaki Boys' High School in Oamaru will now be governed by a commissioner, whose role will be to turn around a school in crisis. Otago Daily Times Oamaru bureau chief David Bruce reports on how it reached that stage.
Proud traditions; when it comes to high schools, Waitaki Boys' High School ranked with the best in New Zealand.
Its imposing Hall of Memories sets in stone the pride generations of boys have had in their school, from those who have gone on to great achievements, to those who have lived solid, rewarding lives.
But since 2012, dissension had grown within the school and community about the way it was being governed and managed, threatening its reputation and role.
The dissension divided trustees, teaching staff, pupils, parents, caregivers and the wider community.
Rumours and gossip abounded, some of it completely false.
Other stories were true, and reflect a dysfunctional school in crisis.
Who is to blame? The finger has been pointed in all directions.
Social media sites have carried all sorts of accusations, including from school supporters convinced the blame was with media.
Interestingly, over the past week that has changed, with fewer comments from supporters, but mostly people wanting the situation resolved.
That view continued yesterday with people expressing the hope a commissioner marks a turning point to quickly head the school back in the right direction.
Whatever the incidents and issues, it all reflects big problems with governance, administration and management.
That filtered down to the small things - litter in the school grounds, pupils' and boarders' behaviour, uniforms worn with a lack of pride, misbehaviour beyond the accepted norm, and even about half the normal turnout of pupils for the annual rugby match against St Kevin's College.
The Otago Daily Times became aware earlier this year something was not right at the school.
When it made inquiries, it was told claims were exaggerated, that any issues were being worked through and the school just needed a bit of time to resolve them.
It came to a head in May when the board had a closed meeting with Ministry of Education representatives about pupil management and complaints from the school community.
Complaints had been lodged with board members and senior management before this year, but were neither fully acted upon nor resolved.
Names of complainants, including teachers, were not kept confidential by the board and consequently there were claims of harassment.
Those concerned about what was happening felt they could no longer trust the board or management, and started complaining directly to the ministry, prompting its involvement, then assistance from the New Zealand School Trustees' Association.
Initially, 17 comments or complaints were received.
By September, another eight were on the list.
In May, a senior staff member was stood down for a serious incident involving a pupil, a situation which is still not resolved.
At that stage, with outside agencies involved, it became impossible for the school to keep matters concealed, although it tried, again downplaying or failing to recognise how serious things were.
During that period, the ODT received a lot of information, complaints, accusations and examples of specific incidents, all of which named individuals.
Almost all were not malicious, but came from people frustrated they were not being listened to by the school.
They feared they could be discriminated against, and that nothing appeared to be happening.
Most were people who were alarmed at the impact this was having on the school.
The newspaper focused on the overall problems of governance, administration and management.
The meeting with the ministry in May led to the board setting terms of reference and commissioning Dunedin education consultant Cleave Hay to report on the issues and make recommendations.
His report was hard-hitting and critical. He found the school was at a ''point of crisis'' and referred to specific incidents.
The board and management rejected most of the report it commissioned and criticised the way it was done.
But it accepted all of Mr Hay's nine recommendations, which included commissioning a second report to investigate the issues further and review Mr Hay's report.
Former Waitaki mayor Alan McLay and former John McGlashan College principal Michael Corkery were appointed by the board to prepare that report which, when finished, was kept under wraps.
However, a copy was leaked to the ODT and, if anything, it was worse than the Hay report.
It concluded the Hay report was ''substantially correct'', the school was ''at considerable risk'' and there was a ''toxic environment for many staff'', probably affecting pupils.
Calling for ''considerable reform and change'', it said that was ''unlikely ... as long as the current governance arrangements and management structures remain in place''.
About the same time, the Education Review Office produced its draft report from a scheduled inspection in August.
The draft report remains confidential, but the ODT learnt it expressed similar concerns to the first two reports and recommended, at the least, a limited statutory manager be appointed.
After receiving the McLay-Corkery report, the board had an urgent meeting on Sunday, September 28.
On the Monday, it requested the ministry to appoint a limited statutory manager.
The board would have stayed in place.
That request was discussed with ministry representative, Otago-Southland area manager Kathryn Palmer, at a closed meeting on Monday night, when the board was informed a commissioner would be appointed.
The ministry felt, with three reports reaching similar conclusions, the situation called for the most severe statutory intervention allowed.
Trustees at the meeting, except for two who were absent, unanimously voted to stand down.
The commissioner, expected to be named next week, now takes over the role of the board.
He or she will be in place until satisfied, along with the ministry, issues have been resolved, then a new board can be elected.
