Education Directorate officials are inquiring into the financial situation of Orana Steiner School after a group of parents raised concerns over governance at the school.
Documents released under freedom of information also show the school breached conditions of approval in 2019 when it allowed teacher aids to cover classes instead of registered teachers.
The preschool to year 12 private school had a drop in enrolments over the past 18 months and made an operating loss of $1.2 million in 2022. The board has told parents another operating loss is expected in 2023.
Board chair Rachel Thomas survived a push by a group of 10 parents for all board members to resign and be replaced at a special general meeting on Tuesday.
'Financial challenges'
Acting principal Kelly Armstrong said the school remained compliant with registration standards for financial viability.
"The board is keenly aware of the financial challenges and the issue is openly addressed in the financial statements and board deliberations," Ms Armstrong said.
"The board is proactively and thoughtfully considering the best course of action to adapt our financial strategy."
She said income from student tuition fees and recurrent government funding had decreased due to lower than anticipated student numbers, while expenses had increased, mainly teacher salaries.
"The early learning centre and primary school are viable, but not with the current cost structure. This is why the school Board is adapting its financial strategy to increase income and trim costs," Ms Armstrong said.
An Education Directorate spokesperson said its last registration review in 2021 the school had improved its credit rating and reduced financial risks since 2015.
"The Registrar of Non-government Schools is working with Orana Steiner School's board to affirm the school's current financial standing and governance," the spokesperson said.
"The school's 2020 audited financial statements and the board was open about the likelihood of three years of operating loss before moving to operating profit. The audited financial statement noted the sufficient cash reserves to meet the school's financial obligations."
The 2021 financial statement shows the school received almost $2 million in Australian government COVID-19 payments in 2020.
The school posted an operating loss of $136,294 in 2021 with cash reserves of $3.8 million.
During its 2016 registration review, the school was not able to demonstrate it was financially viable and could not show that senior students were doing the number of hours of each course required by the Board of Senior Secondary Studies.
An extra registration review was conducted two years later in 2018, which found that the school was financially viable but the year 11 and 12 timetable still needed to be amended.
Capital works
The school won an $800,000 grant to build a new music block in February 2022, which is expected to be finished by the end of this year.
Documents obtained by The Canberra Times show the ACT Block Grant Authority committee found the school demonstrated it was viable and had forecast low debt per student.
"It has high cash reserves that are anticipated to reduce over 2022 due to other planned capital works, and the school is intending to borrow to meet its contribution to this projects," a letter from the authority said.
The board announced plans for a new building for year 4 and art classes at the beginning of 2022 but this was scrapped due to increased construction costs and rising interest rates.
Registration breach
Documents show the Education Directorate's director of non-government education Linda Tooth visited the school in June 2019 following a complaint to the Education Minister's office.
Ms Tooth found seven instances in April 2019 when unregistered teacher aids were employed as casual teachers when Steiner-trained relief teachers were unavailable.
The principal at the time ensured it wouldn't happen again and no further regulatory action was taken.
"All teachers, including casual teachers, at the school are registered and comply with the requirements of the Teacher Quality Institute," Ms Armstrong said.
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