East City Community Trust accuses MOE of failing to cover community stadium costs

An east Auckland local board says it is at an “impasse” with the Ministry of Education over the funding of a community stadium.

Ōrākei Local Board is accusing the ministry of failing to pay its agreed share for operating Barfoot and Thompson Stadium despite Selwyn College having access to the facility for about 43% of its operating hours.

The board said it is now seeking the council’s help as the trust faces financial pressures over what the local board claimed is the ministry’s continued “refusal to enter into discussions”.

The ministry said the school is meeting its obligations “as they are presently understood” and is taking legal advice before commenting on specific claims.

In June Ōrākei Local Board member David Wong presented to Auckland Council’s Community Committee explaining longstanding issues with the operations of Barfoot and Thompson Stadium.

He said Selwyn College used Barfoot and Thompson Stadium for about 43% of the facility’s opening hours and was used by a combination of local sports clubs, community events, and private organisations the rest of the time.

He claimed the ministry continually failed to contribute its agreed share of 10% of operation and maintenance costs.

While the board admitted “numbers are not simple and are open to interpretation,” it estimated the ministry paid just $44k of the $88k it owed in 2024.

It said the East City Community Trust (ECCT), which ran the stadium, had been absorbing the funding shortfall for nearly 40 years and was effectively subsidising the school’s use through community hire, grants and club revenue.

The Community Committee was considering options to resolve the issue including increased funding for the stadium and lobbying the ministry to meet with the local board.

The Ministry of Education said it was aware of concerns regarding the stadium and acknowledged its importance to the Selwyn College students and the wider community.

Its chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard said it noted the stadium’s agreement was between the Selwyn College Board and the ECCT.

“As part of this arrangement, the school has continued to meet its obligations as they are presently understood.”

However, Sheppard said the matter was still currently being “actively progressed” and it was “reviewing a range of complex issues” before commenting on specific claims.

“We have not disengaged from this matter and remain open to appropriate engagement with relevant parties as the current review progresses,” Sheppard said.

The ECCT is chaired by Selwyn College principal Sheryll Ofner, who turned down the opportunity to be interviewed but clarified the relationship between the school and the ministry when it came to paying for the stadium.

“Selwyn is a state school and we act as the conduit and pass on to the stadium all of the money that the Ministry gives us for this purpose,” she said.

Ōrākei Local Board deputy chair Scott Milne said he feared for the future of the stadium if nothing changed.

“The building is over 40 years old, there is some deferred maintenance. It’s not in bad shape but there needs to be a plan or strategy to keep it in good shape.”

In its presentation to council, the board said it was already generous to only require the ministry to pay for 10% of the stadium’s operations.

Milne wanted to reassess the licence so the ministry would pay closer to 43% to reflect the school’s use of the facility.

“If they did, that would give the trust the opportunity to run the stadium and also make provision for repairs, maintenance, and upgrades.”

The board also suggested the ministry was willing to fully take over the operations of the stadium if the trust went into insolvency.

“Here’s a stadium that was built by public funding. There was not a cent, to my knowledge, of ministry funding that went into its building,” Milne said.

“It is on Ministry of Education land but 40 years later, after not paying their fair share, the school wants to say, ‘why don’t you just give it to us?’.”

Milne said the ministry would have to substantially increase its grant to the college to pay for the maintenance of the stadium if such a move went ahead.

Jordan Dunn is a multimedia reporter based in Auckland with a focus on crime, social issues, policing and local issues. He joined Newstalk ZB in 2024 from Radio New Zealand, where he started as an intern out of the New Zealand Broadcasting School.