Notice 2004
Pursuant to section 103A (5) (b) of the Education Act 1989, the Secretary for Education gives the following notice.
N o t i c e
1. Title and commencement-(1) This notice may be cited as the Guidelines for Approval of Board Contracts Notice 2004.
(2) This notice will come into effect on the day after the date of its publication in the New Zealand Gazette.
2. Guidelines for approval of contracts-For the purposes of section 103A (5) (b) of the Education Act 1989, every application by a board of trustees for approval by the Secretary of a contract to which section 103A (2) applies shall be considered in accordance with the guidelines specified in clauses 3 and 4 of this notice.
3. Prior approval-(1) Before approving any application for a contract which has not yet been entered into, the Secretary must be satisfied that there is no risk that
the school trustee 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 will consider:
(a) whether the board has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that all potentially interested parties had an opportunity to tender for the contract;
(b) 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;
(c) whether the board has resolved to accept the contract subject to the Secretary's approval; and
(d) whether the board's minutes record that the school trustee who is concerned or interested in the contract, declared that interest and excluded themselves from the meeting of the board when the matter was being considered.
4. Retrospective approval-(1) Before approving any application for a contract which has already been entered into, the Secretary must be satisfied that, in addition to the matters specified in clause 3, there is sufficient good reason why prior approval was not obtained.
Dated at Wellington this 3rd day of June 2004.
HOWARD FANCY, Secretary for Education.