The leader of a school flagged for using public funds for a group of senior staff’s “professional development” trip to Queenstown has fired back at suggestions the money was used for personal activities.

The Auditor-General released its annual report on New Zealand schools’ 2024 accounts yesterday, revealing 27 schools needed Ministry of Education guarantees for their finances, a fourfold increase from the year prior.

The report noted many schools needed guidance for “sensitive expenditure” and building maintenance plans, while 21 schools were flagged for their use of a $6000-a-year fund available to principals for professional development, coaching and support.

Haeata Community Campus, the site of last week’s school lunch debacle, was among those questioned by the Office of the Auditor-General over funding an $18,500 trip to Queenstown for six staff members.

In a media release this morning, principal Peggy Burrows said “no public money was used for a holiday in Queenstown” and spending was “appropriate, transparent, board-approved, and fully aligned with national guidelines for principal professional development”.

She rejected the characterisation of the trip, saying it was scheduled to coincide with her attendance at the 2024 SPANZ Conference.

Haeata Community Campus principal Peggy Burrows.

According to Burrows, she and five senior leadership staff engaged in “a board-sanctioned programme of professional learning, leadership development and team strengthening” in the resort town.

She combined the sensitive expenditure allowance from 2023 and 2024 to facilitate the group trip, a move she said was consistent with the fund’s guidelines.

“The board formally approved the expenditure at its May 20, 2024, hui, commending the manukura’s commitment to investing her allowance directly into her team,” a school spokesperson said.

“Airfares were booked well in advance to secure the lowest fares, and accommodation was negotiated at the same rate offered to principals attending the SPANZ conference.

“During the haerenga [trip], the SLT [senior leadership team] also visited Wakatipu High School, a comparable PPP [public-private partnership] school, gaining insights directly relevant to Haeata’s operations.”

Other schools flagged over their spending were Hamilton’s Glenview School ($29,458 on overseas trips to Canada, Vietnam and Samoa) and Fairfield College ($17,155 for the principal’s Alaska, Canada, Hawai’i and New York trip).

The Auditor-General has flagged dozens of schools for their spending of public funds in its 2024 annual report. Photo / 123rf

The now-former principal of Napier’s Maraenui Bilingual School also used $9086 to attend a tangi, and $7058 for them and a family member’s trip to Rarotonga.

Auditors flagged issues in 64 reports overall, with 15 schools identified as being in “serious financial difficulty”, the Auditor-General’s report said.

“We drew attention to some spending on personal travel for the principal and, in some instances, companions because there was no clear business purpose for it,” the report said.

“In some instances, there was a lack of documentation or receipts to support the business purpose of the principal’s travel. For most of these, there was a clear business rationale for the travel, but there was additional travel and spending (such as on tourist activities) that appeared to be personal in nature.

“Any personal travel incorporated into business travel should be at no additional cost to the school.”

Haeata Community Campus, located in Christchurch’s Wainoni, was the subject of scrutiny last week after the school claimed its lunch meals, forming part of the Government’s school lunch programme, were delivered mouldy.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour challenged the school’s claims the expired meals were delivered by contractor Compass Group, suggesting the school could instead be to blame for the incident.

A Ministry for Primary Industries investigation concluded it to be the result of “human error” and that the mouldy lunches were likely left out for days before being served to children.

New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said the “weight of evidence suggested” Haeata staff members mistakenly distributed the meals.

Tom Rose is an Auckland-based journalist who covers breaking news, specialising in lifestyle, entertainment and travel. He joined the Herald in 2023.