CPAG stands with Kelston Boys amid attempted charter school takeover
Child Poverty Action Group is standing with Kelston Boys’ High School (KBHS) amid attempts by outside actors to take over the school and convert it to a charter school.
Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust (BEWT) has proposed to take over administration of the school starting January 1, 2026, and convert it to a charter school.
CPAG Research and Programme Officer, and former KBHS student Dr Yu (Harry) Shi, says the bid is completely unwarranted and lacks any factual basis, instead driven by ideological abuse and misinformation.
“As a proud KBHS alumnus and someone who had first-hand experience of the extreme passion and above-and-beyond dedication of the school’s staff and community, the depiction put forward by the bidder could not be further from the reality,”
Dr Shi says the application itself is “loaded with misuse of data and over-simplification of the complex challenges faced by students and schools at the severe end of the Equity Index”.
“The bidder’s overt simplification actually shows how disconnected the bidder is from the Kelstonian community, as well as a lack of understanding of the true impact of child poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand in education and many aspects of day-to-day life for whānau, and the increasing resource needed to tackle child poverty.”
The incredible upheaval and uncertainty this is forcing on students and their whānau is particularly concerning at a time of year when focus on studies is critical in the lead-up to externals examinations.
Such actions should be taken in consultation and co-ordination with the community they affect, yet many of the arguments BEWT makes are based on anecdotal evidence, self-selected and non-random subsets, and ad-hoc outreach.
Dr Claire Dale says contracting with a sponsor rather than a locally elected school Board removes the democratic decision-making power from the local community.
“Decisions about a local school must be made with its community, not done to it. Democracy isn’t a hurdle; it’s the safeguard that keeps children’s interests at the centre.”
CPAG notes the consultation period ended when the BEWT claims it “descended into abuse”, a unilaterally-decided threshold that risks under-capturing dissenting views.
The proposal also frames prospective resignations and role removals as “helpful,” which undermines the neutrality expected in a consultation phase and suggests BEWT is happy with an ‘outcome-by-staffing’ change rather than a pedagogical model.
It is CPAG’s view that charter schools are inherently likely to drain resources from state schools that need more help - not less - at the expense of children left behind in these schools.
“Charter schools divert scarce education funding into administration rather than learning. The young men of Kelston Boys’ High don’t need new bureaucracy, they need proven supports in their classrooms,” says Dr Claire Dale.
“If the goal is higher achievement, the evidence is clear: invest in literacy and numeracy acceleration, specialist teacher aides, attendance and engagement services, devices and connectivity, and strong, transparent reporting, not governance experiments.”
We have worked with KBHS before, hosting several students to present at our annual post-Budget hui. Broadly, these students discussed issues of structural underfunding of schools in deprived areas, their aspirations, and a feeling that the real issues – and solutions – aren’t being addressed by central government.
It is our first-hand experience of these students, their former principal, Adeline Blair, and the incredible conviction and poerty woven through their presentation, that demonstrates the quality of their education and awareness of the wider socio-economic and political context of present-day Aotearoa New Zealand.
CPAG therefore calls for:
· An immediate pause on the conversion process until there is an independent, transparent consultation with representative sampling and full publication of submissions and methods.
· A Ministry-led support package for KBHS focused on proven levers: intensive literacy/numeracy, specialist staffing (including teacher aides), attendance and engagement services, devices and connectivity, and strengthened careers guidance linking to apprenticeships, trades, and university.
The young men of Kelston Boys High School deserve stability, honesty, and a plan anchored in evidence, not upheaval driven by ideology.
CPAG stands with the KBHS community in asking decision-makers to do the careful, transparent work our rangatahi deserve.
Former Kelston Boys’ High School student and CPAG Research and Programme Officer Dr Yu (Harry) Shi has written an open letter of support to acting principal Daniel Samuela and the Board of Trustees.