KEY POINTS:
A principal has appeared in court after overstating the school roll to get $16,700 more in government funding.
Past principal of Balclutha School Sharman Andrea Dykes, 54, pleaded guilty to dishonesty charges when she appeared in Dunedin District Court yesterday, the Otago Daily Times reported.
Dykes was Balclutha's principal for three years from 2003 and is now a Winton farmer.
A Ministry of Education audit of the roll showed Dykes had overstated the number of pupils by 12 in 2003 and 15 in 2004 and 2005.
Dykes told ministry staff finance was "not her strong point" and said she was stressed managing the school budget.
She said it was not for personal gain, but to make funds go further for the school.
The court was told the ministry would not try to recover the money because of the "historical nature of the irregularities", but wanted a conviction to deter others from similar actions.
Dykes was charged with one count of using a Ministry of Education annual return of students form to obtain a benefit or pecuniary advantage for Balclutha School and two charges of dishonestly using a Ministry of Education annual return of students form.
Defence counsel Roger Eagles asked for the case to be adjourned so the court could consider an application for Dykes to be discharged without conviction.
Judge Stephen O'Driscoll adjourned the case to August 7 "with no guarantees".
- NZPA
