updated: 1040AM with comments from Peggy Burrows 

A Christchurch school has been named in a national audit that has uncovered concerns about how public money was spent in schools, including cases where principals used funding tagged for coaching and wellbeing on overseas trips, family travel, tourist activities, and premium flights.

The findings were released by the Office of the Auditor General in a report to the Secretary for Education, covering school audits completed in the 12 months to 31 October 2025.

Most relate to the 2024 financial year. The report shows a ‘marked increase in issues involving sensitive expenditure’ especially spending that lacked a ‘clear business purpose’.

A significant proportion of concerns centred on the professional coaching and wellbeing funding available to principals.

Under collective agreements, principals could access up to $6,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for professional development or wellbeing support intended to build leadership capability. Although paid through school operations funding, the money was tagged for that purpose.

The report said about one third of the concerning cases involved domestic or international travel.

Examples included schools paying for stopovers without business justification, flights for spouses or family, premium economy upgrades, koru club memberships without evidence of benefit, and tourist excursions such as scenic train rides and boat cruises.

Haeata Community Campus in Christchurch was included in the report.

The school spent $18,500 on a trip to Queenstown for its Senior Leadership Team, partly from the 2023 and 2024 coaching and wellbeing allocation, to visit a local school that is part of the Private Public Partnership network and as a team building opportunity.

Spending included about $10,000 on accommodation and $6,000 on meals, drinks, and tourist activities in Queenstown.

The school did not provide enough evidence that all spending incurred as part of the trip had a clear business purpose the report said.

Haeata principal Peggy Burrows said “all spending was appropriate, transparent, Board-approved, and fully aligned with national guidelines for principal professional development.”

She said no public money was used for a holiday in Queenstown.

Instead, she and five members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) took part in a Board-sanctioned programme of professional learning, leadership development, and team strengthening, scheduled to coincide with her attendance at the 2024 SPANZ Conference in Queenstown.

“Principals are entitled to $6,000 per year for professional coaching, leadership development, and wellbeing. To maximise the opportunity for her team, Dr Burrows combined her 2023 and 2024 allocations to support meaningful professional development for five SLT members – a use fully permitted under the fund’s flexible guidelines and consistent with its purpose of building leadership capability. The Board formally approved the expenditure at its 20 May 2024 hui, commending the Manukura’s commitment to investing her allowance directly into her team.

“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 trip SLT also visited Wakatipu High School, a comparable PPP school, gaining insightsdirectly relevant to Haeata’s operations.

“Dr Burrows maintains that the trip delivered genuineprofessional growth and strengthened leadership across the kura.”

Schools across the country were also criticised:

• Coley Street School paid $12,000 for the principal and spouse to attend a four day conference in Vancouver without receipts to show the spending met public sector expectations.

• Cannington School spent $5,000 on an overseas trip for the principal and spouse without a documented business purpose, and breached the law by failing to keep proper accounting records.

• Solway School spent $4,251 for the principal and family to travel to Fiji in a way auditors said was inconsistent with public sector expectations.

• Glenview School in Hamilton spent $29,458 on travel to Canada, Vietnam and Samoa. While parts were consistent with school strategy, auditors found insufficient evidence of a business purpose for all spending.

• Marton Junction School spent $9,156 on principal travel to Rarotonga and French Polynesia without adequate receipts or justification.

• Te Paina School spent $11,440 on travel for the principal and family, with family reimbursements still outstanding at audit time.

• Netherton School spent $15,928 sending the principal and partner to a conference in Las Vegas, including a stopover in San Francisco and tourist activities.

• Ngutuawa School incurred $9,327 in international travel without following its own financial controls.

• Apanui School reimbursed $9,000 to a former principal for a Europe trip with no receipts, no board approval, and breaches of record keeping laws.

• Bulls School spent $9,434 on travel to Rarotonga for the principal with no documented business purpose.

• Oturu School spent $4,369 on Queenstown travel for the principal and a companion with no evidence of business need.

A significant number of cases involved travel framed as research into indigenous education, but still failed basic accountability tests.

• Fairfield College spent $17,155 on principal travel to Alaska and Canada to study indigenous education challenges. Auditors raised concerns over an additional $2,900 spent on accommodation and stopovers in Hawai‘i and New York, plus tourist activities, none of which had documented business justification.

• Fraser High School spent $9,334 on similar research travel to Alaska and Canada, with auditors again finding insufficient evidence that spending during stopovers or tourist activities had a valid business purpose.

• Saint Mary’s School in Palmerston North paid $11,198 for travel to Rome with stopovers in Singapore and Thailand, with no documented educational or leadership purpose.

• Henderson Intermediate spent $8,527 on overseas travel for two principals without receipts or ministry concurrence.

• Puketapu School spent $2,620 on travel and hospitality for the principal and family with no link to school objectives.

• Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Tonga o Hokianga spent $6,000 on a personal trip to Turkey for the principal with no business purpose, and later donated a school van at a loss of $29,994.

• Glenfield College made an $11,035 payment to the family of a former principal after his death, which included unspent coaching funds.

The Auditor General said he was pleased the Ministry of Education had now begun a schools accountability project, noting that many schools, especially smaller ones, had expressed concern about the administrative demands of financial reporting.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling for the principals of schools identified by the Auditor-General as having used public money inappropriately to repay taxpayers in full.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“From a kura sending their principal to Turkey using $6,000 of ‘well-being support funding’ to multiple trips to Rarotonga, Queenstown and Canada. Why would these school leaders think this funding was appropriate, especially with how many also brought their spouses, partners and families with them?”

“This can only be seen as total disrespect to taxpayers and the students this funding was meant to go to. The Auditor-General’s findings make it clear that too many schools are treating financial rules as optional.”

“Every cent that was misused should be returned, and the Secretary of Education must ensure this doesn’t become a recurring cycle of bad audits followed by zero consequences.”