175 
09 278 9763 SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES
25th August 2025
Meeting held in the Papatoetoe Intermediate School Meeting Room
| Time | 6.00 p.m. |
| Present | Jeremy Nicholls [Presiding Member], Peter Cann and Mohammed Sahu-Khan [MoE appointed Trustee], Leigh Manukau [Parent Elected Trustee], Lilien Skudder [Staff appointed Trustee] and Pauline Cornwell – [Principal] |
| In Attendance | Barbara Ferregel – Board Secretary, Gareth Fletcher – Sports/DP.Tamara Gersbach – RTLB Cluster Manager |
| Apologies | Darryl Wilson [MoE appointed Trustee], Ash Chetty [Co-opted member] and Kimiora Parata [Parent Elected Trustee/Deputy Chairperson] |
| Welcome and Karakia | Thank you to Jeremy |
| Conflict of Interest | Members declared that according to the printed agenda no one had a conflict of interest with any business to be discussed at this evening.- Moved Jeremy Nicholls Carried Unanimously |
| Ratification of April minutes | Moved that the minutes of 25th July 2025 are a true and correct record of the meeting. – Moved Peter Cann – Seconded Jeremy Nicholls – Carried UnanimouslyNo matters arising – covered in Principal’s Board Report |
Welcome to Tamara Gersbach – RTLB Cluster Manager
- Quite a bit of uncertainty with the service at the moment – hard to plan and forecast.
- Staffing may be reduced but this is also an unknown
- Funding agreement will look ‘different’
- Need to employ another Practice Leader – will not do this until we have certainty
- Draft budget on the current funding agreement – this may look a little different once confirmation is received around funding
- 485 cases to date/193 have closed.
- LSF spending – well on its way.
- Recommendations
– Chair or delegate attend the MoE information seminar once we are informed when this
will be.
– Finances
– ICT budget line underspent – invoices were not getting sent. Sorted now – these were
going to an incorrect email address.
– No concerns as to how RTLB are tracking
Thank you Tamara
Tamara left the meeting at 6.18 pm
Welcome to Gareth Fletcher [Deputy Principal] – Sports Camp/Sports/EOTC
- Presentations
– Proposal for an overnight Enviro Team Camp to Tawharanui Regional Park – 2 days/1 night – Term 4 2025
– Students in Enviro Group – approximately 40 students
– Three staff – Tracy, Adam and Karel
– Camp site/tents
– Ratio of 1 – 8 and male/female ratio
Board permission is required to go ahead with the planning of this proposal
Jeremy moved the Board accept this proposal and that paperwork is available for the October meeting.
Seconded Peter
Carried Unanimously
Upgrading and reviewing evacuation and emergency processes
– Guide shared with Board.
– Process has not changed
Sports Results – Historical Records
– Comparison from 2023 to 2025
– Progressively improving each year
– Some amazing results and great to see some of our students moving on to greater things and representing NZ in difference codes.
Community consultation around Health and Well Being
– Gareth will share a copy of the summary for Board Members
Sports Camp
Next week – 1st to the 5th September
– All documents shared with the Board
– Ratio – 40 students and 4 staff members plus Camp staff
– Water activities introduced this year – first year for a ‘Manu’ competition [off site]
– Board approved sports camp earlier in the year and are pleased to see all the paperwork is now finalised.
Paint Donations Request Letter
– Field marking
– Garden Projects
– Gaga Ball Arena
– Gareth had prepared a letter to share with local businesses to try and get donations.
– Jeremy suggested Trade Depot
Approval needed from the Board
Moved Jeremy
Seconded Peter
Carried Unanimously
Sports Academy Sponsorship Form 2025
– Shared with Board Members
– Approval required for students to use the same form for 2026 School Camp
Moved Peter
Seconded Mohammed
Carried Unanimously
Thank you Gareth – left the meeting at 7.05 pm
Principal’s -Report
Pauline’s Principals report had been shared with all members to read prior to the meeting.
- Board Elections
- 17 nominations for Parent Representatives
- 2 nominations for Staff Representatives
- Voting closes at 4.00pm. on the 10th September
- New Board Members to be invited to a ‘welcome’ meeting on the 17th September at 6.00 pm.
- Masterchef running again this year
- Nawinta oversees this.
- Tuesday 26th August – 9.00 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.
- 5 schools participating
- Pacifica Fono – all Board Members were invited.
- Wednesday 20th August at 6.00 p.m.
- Board members present – Jeremy, Kimi and Ash
– Great night – about 250 whanau attending
- Leadership Retreat [Boot Camp]
- Venue – Castaways at Karioitahi
- During the September holidays – 2026 planning
- Stand down and Suspension data
- Comparison between 2024 and 2025
- Decreased totals can be attributed to the way we deliver our curriculum
- Lower student/staff ratio
- Principal’s Performance Agreement
- Signed by Kimi and Jeremy
- In the process now of setting goals
- Attendance contract
- Currently held by Otahuhu Intermediate
- Contracts now out for tender
- We have an application in for funding as an attendance service provider. If successful this contract will start in October.
Finance
- Increase of the budget deficit.
- An error re allocation of $40,500.00 from Project Costs has been corrected.
- South West Sports Fund
- Now held by our school.
Property
- Pap Int report shared with the Board
- 1A and 1B should be back in their room next week. Repairs will be completed by then from the recent flooding.
- Weathertightness – council have now signed off the project
- Finish date is possibly January 2026.
- Removal of ‘old’ Mt Richmond classes – demolition during the summer break.
- 6 new classrooms scheduled to start in the summer break and completion is likely to be in Term 4 2026.
Pauline moved the Board accept Principal’s report and any recommendations.
- Recommendations
- Accept the RTLB July Report and recommendations
- Approve all the Finance Reports for PIS and RTLB and related recommendations
- Accept Property reports (Watershed, Finance Managers and Principals) and any associated recommendations and related finances listed in the reports
- Ratify all the employment actions for the previous month – appointments, advertising and contract terminations (resignations)
- Board approve the appointment of Jeremy Nicholls and Kimiora Parata to continue with the Principal’s appraisal and Performance Management.
- Confirm the Cyclical Maintenance plan and allocated budget for 2026. Signed off by Board Chair.
Accepted Peter Cann
Seconded Leigh Manukau
Carried Unanimously
Sian’s [counsellor] report to the Board
- On behalf of the Board Jeremy would like to express the board’s thanks to Sian for a very thorough report.
Correspondence
Outward
– Letter to local businesses from Gareth requesting paint donations – for Board approval
– Letter to the Mt Richmond Principal – re increase in costs for the rooms on site.
Inward
- Erica Stanford – regarding Study Centre
- Sian Strachan – email of thanks to the Board for approval of her leave to travel and farewell her father-n-law with family.
- Letter of thanks from NZPA to all Board Chairs – thanking the Board members for their continued commitment
Correspondence moved Jeremy
Seconded Pauline
Carried Unanimously
Other Business
- Farewell and welcome dinner – to be organised once the new Board are announced.
- Thank you from Mohammed and all the best to the new Board
- Pauline expressed her thanks and the incredibly privilege to have Mohammed and Darryl on the Board for so long and have their unwavering support since 2017.
- Thank you to Mohammed for the support from his community over the years.
- Presentation of gifts to Mohammed and Lilien.
- Darryl’s gift will be presented at the dinner.
At 7.55 p.m. Jeremy Nicholls moved that the Public be excluded from discussion of confidential items relating to personnel matters because of their sensitive nature.
Carried – Unanimously.
In committee discussion closed at 8.20 p.m. and the regular meeting resumed.
The Board Chair and Principal agreed to carry out the actions outlined in the ‘in-committee’ meeting.
| Meeting closed | 8.30 pm |
| Next Meeting | Tuesday 28th October at 6.00 p.m.[With a meeting on the 17th September at 6.00 p.m. to welcome the new Board and get all paperwork completed.] |