About board funding#

Board funding is money the board has received from sources like fundraising, grants from trusts and community groups, and bequests. It can also include surplus operational funding.

Boards must apply to us for consent before using board funds to upgrade, build or buy property for their school. This is required under the Education and Training Act 2020.

Section 160, Education and Training Act 2020 — New Zealand Legislation

Property ownership#

When board funds are used on a property project that creates an asset, the board may own some or all of the new property. The board must record this ownership on its balance sheet and is responsible for the ongoing maintenance.

For upgrades of property owned by us that improves an asset, we may agree to accept board-funded works as a donation. In these cases, the board will not own any of the property it funded work for.

Apply for consent#

To apply to use board or community funding for a property project, complete the following application form and send it to your property advisor.

If we approve your request, we will send you a confirmation letter. You will need to show that approval letter to the auditor during the annual audit of your board's financial accounts.

Criteria for consent#

We will consider these 4 criteria when reviewing your application for approval:

1. Education benefits – the proposed project will help the school deliver educational benefits.
2. Network considerations – the impact the proposed project will have on the school network.
3. Financial status – the proposed project will be funded in a financially responsible and sustainable way.
4. Property standards – the proposed project meets our design and health and safety standards.

The application form has more information about the criteria.

Board-owned property#

When you build or buy something with board funds, this property will be recorded as board-owned space. Your board must pay for all the ongoing costs. Some of these costs may include:

• maintenance
• capital upgrades
• insurance
• operational costs.

You should plan and budget for maintenance and capital upgrades to board-owned space as part of regular property planning.

If you share ownership with us and/or the community, ongoing costs must also be shared based on how much each party owns. This is calculated based on the percentage ownership of a building.

If the property is owned by the community, your board should have an agreement in place with the community to share these costs.

We will only consider taking ownership of a partially or fully board-owned building if there is a specific programme which provides a mechanism or funding for this. Other considerations include the age and condition of the building. For example, if a school has a School Property Guide (SPG) deficiency which we have funding to address, buying board-owned property might be an option.  

If your board wants to discuss property ownership, talk to your property advisor.

If you want to sell or remove board or community-owned property#

A board may be able to sell or dispose of property they own and are no longer using. Any disposal must go through the Crown disposal process.

Read how to put surplus property into the Crown disposal process.

Surplus school property