May 11, 2016
Search on for school trustees
Education Minister Hekia Parata has written to iwi urging them to encourage Maori in their rohe to stand for school boards.
Nominations for the boards opened last Friday, and the elections will have a big impact on what happens in schools and kura over the next three years.
Ms Parata says the percentage of Maori serving on boards is too low, and Maori need to stand, vote, and support the schools their tamariki go to.
She says in the New Zealand system boards have mana and power, as she pointed out in the debate on whether teaching New Zealand history should be compulsory.
"The way to get the kind of programme you want taught in your school is to get on your board, is to have these discussions with your principal, to talk about what your interests as a community are, and to understand how schools plan their curriculum and what resources and support they need to deliver the kinds of programme parents and whanau want," Ms Parata says.
Nominations close on May 20 and polls close at noon on June 3.
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