The Ministry of Education confirmed the board can still operate on its depleted numbers. Image / Google
Up to five board of trustees members of an Auckland primary school have stepped down en masse.
The move means more than half the eight-member Whenuapai School board has gone.
A source told the Herald five board members had resigned and the shake-up was understood to have happened largely within the past 24 hours, while the school was on holiday.
However, the Ministry of Education confirmed four members had resigned and that the board still had the capacity to remain operational.
Deputy secretary sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said the ministry had been told four board members had resigned.
"Along with the New Zealand Trustees Association, we are working closely with the school's board and leadership to support effective school governance, school operations and the delivery of the New Zealand Curriculum," she said.
"The process to replace the board members who have resigned will now begin."
Another Ministry of Education spokesperson said three people remained on the board.
The Herald has approached the school principal, who remains on the board, for comment.
Whenuapai School, which caters for children in Years 1 to 8, is located on Airport Rd.
According to its website, it was first proposed in 1957 when the Waitemata City Council decided to build a new school.
The flight was on its way to Auckland when it was forced to return to Christchurch.