Conflict of interest information for school trustees

Applications should be sent C/O Senior Financial Advisor, Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 1666, Wellington

Boards must provide full information (with original supporting documentation) on each of the following points when submitting an application to the Ministry.

1. Before approving any application for a contract which has not yet been entered into, the Secretary for Education must be satisfied that there is no risk that the board member who has a concern or interest in the contract has, or may have, received preferential treatment.
2. In order to determine whether there is a risk of preferential treatment, the Secretary for Education will consider:
1. whether the board has taken reasonable steps to ensure that all potentially interested parties had an opportunity to tender for the contract; the board should include details ie name, role etc if it used an independent project manager
2. whether the board has considered and evaluated each of the tenders or quotes, and can justify the preferred choice on the basis of cost, performance, or quality of service; the board also needs to provide information on the value of the contract, its start/finish date, as well as details (if any) or any other companies that submitted tenders, and
3. whether the board minutes record that the Board member who is concerned or interested in the contract, declared that interest and excluded themselves from meetings of the board when the matter was being considered.¹
3. Where the contract has already been entered into, the Secretary for Education must be satisfied that, in addition to the matters specified in (2) above, there is sufficient good reason why prior approval was not obtained.

In particular the application must set out the reasons why the board wishes to enter into the contract, why the board member has been selected as the prospective consultant/contractor, and what decision-making processes the board has followed. It should also clearly indicate who the Ministry can contact if it has any questions regarding the application. The board should include a copy of all minutes relating to the contract decisions.

Refer to Education Circular: 2006/07 Conflicts of Interest for School Trustees on www.minedu.govt.nz/circulars for further information about conflicts of interest.

There are no legislative restrictions or guidelines for boards whose actions may benefit the family, whānau or friends of a board member ie, where the board member has an indirect interest. However, it would be wise for board members to be seen to be completely free of any improper influence. It is therefore recommended that the board adopt a policy of declaring any personal financial interest to deal with these situations.

Talk to the Ministry if there may be a conflict of interest. For a list of financial advisors see www.minedu.govt.nz/finance

¹ Clause 8 (8) of the 6th Schedule to the Education Act 1989 states that any board member who has a financial interest in any matter must be excluded from any meeting of the board while the board discusses the matter.