Staff gave a Dunedin secondary school board of trustees a “standing ovation” over its handling of the misappropriation of $365,000, documents reveal.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Logan Park High School told parents a staff member had ripped the school off between 2019 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Minutes from a board meeting obtained through the Official Information Act by the\u00a0Otago Daily Times\u00a0reveal Logan Park High School staff gave the board a standing ovation for its handling of the situation.<\/p>\n
According to the minutes from the June 12 meeting, the school was made aware of the theft of funds in mid-March 2024.<\/p>\n
It outlined the misappropriation was discovered after an external accounting provider uncovered a discrepancy.<\/p>\n
The board of trustees then followed processes according to school policy to investigate and recover the funds.<\/p>\n
It also conducted a policy review to improve processes, including financial reporting and sign-off procedures.<\/p>\n
“[The] school found this to be a huge learning curve,” the minutes said.<\/p>\n
Legal advice and guidance from accountants, auditors and the Office of the Auditor-general helped the board achieve a “positive outcome” \u2014 the recovery of funds.<\/p>\n
After the misappropriation was made public the Ministry of Education requested the school provide documentation about its processes and a summary of what it had done to improve them.<\/p>\n
It also requested a copy of a management letter from the Office of the Auditor-general, which the school refused to provide because it was “strictly confidential”.<\/p>\n
The Logan Park board told the\u00a0ODT\u00a0it had worked on its processes by strengthening its financial controls by improving approval processes, creating tighter oversight and reporting and clearer accountability measures.<\/p>\n
It said the incident was the result of an individual acting in isolation and not the failure of co-principal Peter Hills.<\/p>\n
“As a board, we stand by Peter and the leadership of Logan Park High School, who have acted with professionalism and integrity throughout this process.”<\/p>\n