Hamilton West school PTA meeting now in hour six as thermos parent refuses to leave
She brought her own tea. She brought her own biscuits. She has opinions about the sausage sizzle roster and she is not done.
A regular Tuesday-night PTA meeting at a Hamilton West primary school has entered its sixth consecutive hour, with proceedings held hostage by one parent, a two-litre thermos, and a tab-divided folder labelled "CONCERNS (ONGOING)".
The parent, Fiona Ballantyne, arrived at 6.55pm for a 7pm start, poured herself a cup of tea before the karakia, and has not stood up since. Other attendees confirmed she had raised points of order on the sausage sizzle rota, the pick-up lane cone placement, and whether the Year 4 disco should have "a theme, or just vibes".
"I thought we were doing fundraising," said Vanessa Cormack, who came for one item and has now missed both her kids' bedtimes. "She's on her fourth cup. She brought Griffin's Gingernuts. Plural packets. This was planned."
The school principal, attempting to close the meeting at 9.15pm, was informed by Ballantyne that she "had one more thing, quickly". The one more thing concerned a 2019 decision about mufti day gold coins and whether the money had ever been accounted for. It had. She wanted it accounted for again.
A PTA spokesperson, reached on Wednesday morning, confirmed the meeting had eventually adjourned at 12.40am with three agenda items untouched. "She rinsed the thermos in the staffroom sink," the spokesperson said. "Left it drying on the bench. She's coming back."
The next meeting is scheduled for a fortnight's time. Ballantyne has already emailed a proposed agenda. It has fourteen items.
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Reader Letters
wayne1987
I reckon she’s munted.
★ JoannePetone
Honestly, if she's that organised, maybe she should run the school! I'm all for efficient chaos – the teenagers at home create enough on their own.
★ Margaret_F
Back in our day we did meetings in a sensible timeframe. Gerald would have never stood for this nonsense. The lockdowns spoiled the youth today.
elsiefromhamilton
@Margaret_F Haha, you said it. Though sometimes the nonsense is the only entertaining bit, eh?
★ Trev_Hornby
Could they just not have told her the wrong date for next time?
bored_kiwi
@Trev_Hornby That's a fair point. Keeps things tidy and she wouldn't even notice!
Garry (Halswell)
This is why no one turns up to these things anymore! Imagine the state of the roads if the council meetings were run like this!
couchgremlin
What exactly was she hoping to achieve? It's a PTA, not parliament.
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