Board ownership and funding for property projects
If your school wants to use board funding or community funding for a property project, you need to apply to us for consent first.
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 Legislationopen_in_new
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 the ownership on its balance sheet and take responsibility for ongoing maintenance.
For upgrades to Crown-owned property that will improve an asset, we may agree to accept board-funded works as a donation. In this case, 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 application form below and send it to your property advisor.
If we approve your request, we’ll send you a confirmation letter. You’ll need to show the letter to the auditor during the annual audit of your board's financial accounts.
Criteria for consent
We consider 4 criteria when reviewing your application.
- Education benefits – the proposed project will help the school deliver educational benefits.
- Network considerations – the impact the proposed project will have on the school network.
- Financial status – the proposed project will be funded in a financially responsible and sustainable way.
- 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, the property will be recorded as ‘board-owned space’. Your board must pay for all the ongoing costs, which will include things like:
- maintenance
- capital upgrades
- insurance, and
- operational costs.
You should plan and budget for maintenance and capital upgrades to board-owned space as part of your regular property planning.
If you share ownership with the Crown and/or the community, the 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 only consider taking ownership of a partially or fully board-owned building if there’s a specific programme that 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
You may be able to sell or dispose of board-owned property that’s no longer being used.
Any disposal must go through the Crown disposal process for surplus school property.