OAMARU PTA MEETING ENTERS SIXTH HOUR AS THERMOS DAD REFUSES TO YIELD FLOOR

It was a Tuesday evening in Oamaru. The Waitaki Girls' hall was booked until 8pm. Nothing about that room suggested what was coming.

What was coming was Grant. Originally from Island Bay. He arrived fourteen minutes early and sat nearest the power point. He unscrewed a stainless-steel thermos with what one mum called "a level of ceremony you'd expect at a christening". Steam rose. A biscuit was declined. The meeting began.

"He said he had 'a few points' under general business," said PTA secretary Deborah Callaghan, who has minuted these meetings since 2019. "By 7.45 we were still on item two. By 8.30 the caretaker was in the doorway with his keys out. Grant just poured another cup and said he'd been saving questions since term one."

Among the matters raised: the brand of sausage (Hellers, disputed), the direction of the pickup lane, whether the school zone map "reflects post-2019 subdivision realities", and fifteen minutes on bark chips. One parent tried to leave at 9.10pm. She was told, gently, that Grant "hadn't finished his point about the bark chips".

A school spokesperson said the meeting was "robust and community-led". They would not confirm whether the caretaker was paid overtime. Principal Marie Osborne said only: "He's very engaged. He's very, very engaged. We love that." She then closed her office door.

Grant was seen back at the school gate at 8.45am Wednesday. Thermos refilled. He was chatting to a Year 3 teacher who was visibly edging toward her classroom. The next meeting is Thursday. Deborah has ordered a second urn.