Parents at Corran engage QC

Corran School parents have hired a Queen's Counsel to examine whether the school's trust board was in breach of its deed.

An email asking parents to help cover the legal costs of hiring a QC was sent out over the weekend and about 70 parents are believed to have indicated their support.

If the legal expert finds the board in breach of the trust deed, parents might file for a court injunction tomorrow.

The school's assets and liabilities are due to be transferred to the St Kentigern Trust Board on April 30.

On April 6, Corran School's board announced it would be merging with St Kentigern from 2010 because the school was in a dire financial situation.

Since then, parents have abused the board at fiery meetings and insisted they did not support its decision.

Many indicated they would have dug into their own pockets to help out the school had they been made aware of the situation earlier.

Within 10 days of the announcement, 55 Corran students had enrolled at Diocesan School.

Corran is a small, private, Anglican girls' school in Remuera.

Many parents do not feel that St Kentigern is the best match for the merger as it is a large, co-educational, Presbyterian college.

The Corran community believes King's College would have been a more appropriate match, but the King's board has not indicated whether it would be interested in a merger.

Parent Neville Seagar said the Corran community would have to decide whether it was worth pursuing legal avenues to save the school over the next couple of days.

Asked yesterday whether he thought legal proceedings would stall the handover, Corran board chairman Brent Sierakowski said he would "doubt that would be the case".