Principals warn the election of school trustees with conspiracy-driven views will be devastating for schools.
Philip Arps, a white supremacist jailed two years ago for sharing a video of the Christchurch terror attacks, wants to be on the board of a nearby school. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The Principals Federation told RNZ it was worried by the number of people standing for school boards who were opposed to measures aimed at minimising the spread of Covid-19 such as face masks and vaccinations.
Nominations for school trustees closed two weeks ago for most schools and voting ends on 7 September, though in most cases so few people were standing that no ballot was needed.
In Christchurch, white supremacists Philip Arps who was sentenced to 21 months in 2019 for sharing the video of the Christchurch terror attacks, put his name forward for a trustee position at Te Aratai College in Linwood.
Principals Federation president Cherie Taylor-Patel said principals were worried by the number of nominees who strongly opposed vaccinations and mask-wearing.
"When parents are coming onto a board with that sort of agenda it actually detracts from the work that we have to do in our schools. We need board members who are focused on what's best for students, how to support principals, teachers and their communities... When the focus is not there it can actually be quite devastating."
A few nominees were fully embroiled in conspiracy-driven misinformation, she said.
"I have heard of principals really concerned about one or two key parents in communities who are standing who have had extreme views and who have been at protests who have potentially been through the court system as a result of that," she said.
Board members opposed to Covid-19 vaccinations were already influencing some schools.
RNZ was aware of one that refused to allow on-site Covid-19 vaccinations earlier this year after some trustees said it would show disrespect to unvaccinated families.
Educational Insitute president Liam Rutherford said most school boards worked through disputes about vaccines and masks in the past two years but at some it was difficult.
"On the whole we can be really proud of the job that our boards and our principals have done in navigating that through but there were some cases where boards made the job of a principal really difficult through a time where we just needed to sit back and focus on the health and safety and students," she said.
School boards were no place for people who were not focused on the best interests of the school, he said.
"We want parents there that are there first and foremost because they are passionate about running the best school they can. It's not really designed for people that want to use it as a way of furthering their own political agenda," Rutherford said.
Education consultant and former principal Traci Liddall said being a school trustee was a big job and most did it well, but those with axes to grind could cause huge problems.
"It can be an agenda to get rid of the principal, it can be an agenda to get streaming back, it can be an agenda to get rid of 'all the Māori stuff', it can be wide and varied. It only takes one or two to completely derail a board and a school," she said.
Liddall said she knew of five principals who resigned in the past 12 months because of conflict with their boards.
There had been cases where sacked teachers or their spouses have been elected to their school's board in order to get back at the principal, she said.
There should be more restrictions on who could be a trustee, Liddall said.
"You would never have complete lay-people governing that they know nothing about in the real world so why it's acceptable in education I have no idea," she said.
"Having professional chairs would be awesome... a lot of the issues would be solved right there."
Associate education minister Jan Tinetti said it was up to school communities to decide who they wanted to represent them and ministers should not get involved.
'Watching brief'
The School Trustees Association says it might be time to review eligibility for school trustees.
"In light of some of these concerns I think it would be a great idea to have a look at that particular piece of legislation. It never hurts to review," association president Lorraine Kerr said.
No boards had contacted the association to discuss concerns about candidates with extreme beliefs, however she was aware of trustees resigning from boards because they did not agree with the measures schools were taking to limit the spread of Covid-19.
The association would keep "a watching brief" on the situation at Te Aratai College, Kerr said.
There was not much schools could do about candidates with extreme views other than trust in the democratic process, she said.
"Where there are some concerns the democracy process kicks in and that's when every member of the community votes and you have to rely on the community and the sensible-ness of their choice."