Pukekohe North School board of trustee chairman, Linikone Le'au, has responded to allegations of disengagement on the board's part with some members of the Pukekohe North School community.
Raemon Mātene and other members of the community have attacked the board of trustees around the lack of engagement with the school's community.
Concerned parents of Pukekohe North School pupils have met to discuss what they say are issues over the school's board of trustees. The school has roughly 80% children of Māori heritage.
One mother, Raemon Mātene, has been fighting the board for more recognition of the needs of whānau Māori since 2019.
"My experience with the board has been around the lack of engagement with whānau, the lack of Māori representation around the table and the lack of any action to assist in supporting our whānau."
For two years this long-time resident of Pukekohe has been fighting the board over its 2019 processes for electing members to the board of trustees. Her group claims some whānau votes weren't counted that year.
"And they were classed as invalid. They did their voting and then they returned them in the same envelope. Those 12 votes supported two community members to sit on the board."
She reached out to numerous people including the Ministry of Education. According to the ministry, the school will look to fix the issues at the next election, which she says isn't much help at this moment.
Full response from the board of trustee chair Linikone Le'au:
Our Board elections were run in line with the New Zealand School Trustees Association guidelines and the legislation. Our Board works very hard to understand and represent the range of views of our community while doing the very best for our ākonga and school.
Our school is very proud of our students for qualifying for the national kapa haka competition. A place in the competition is highly-coveted and we look forward to seeing our ākonga participate at the national competition in October to be held in Nelson.
Our school takes pride in weaving tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori throughout our school. The school offers mainstream education and total immersion Māori education for our school community.
The Board of Trustees is committed to raising student achievement at Pukekohe North School for all ākonga, of which 79% identify as Māori. Each year our strategic plan identifies specific strategic goals that seek to address disparities and raise achievement for our Māori ākonga, with students in both our mainstream classes and Kura Rumaki being targeted and reported on.
Each year the school's Charter and Strategic Plan outline our vision and goals for our whānau and their tamariki. The Board of Trustees develops its Strategic Plan in consultation with the staff, students, whānau, and stakeholders of our school community with a vision to develop successfully, competent learners secure in their identity, in both the Māori and Pakeha world.
We can confirm we are liaising closely with the New Zealand School Trustees Association and Ministry of Education to ensure that best practice informs how we handle any concerns and that we address issues at the lowest level possible and as quickly as practicable for the sake of those involved.
As a Board, we are committed to addressing any concerns that are raised with us so that the school’s focus is able to remain on our core functions such as teaching and learning, wellbeing, and “Setting our ākonga on the path of lifelong learning”.
It is important to note that our school is in great heart, we have incredible tamariki and wonderful whānau support.