Ministry sector enablement and support deputy secretary Katrina Casey said the ministry had identified the issues after ''working with Carisbrook School''.
''The board has requested support, and in response we have appointed a limited statutory manager (LSM), effective from May 29.''
She said principal Ben Sincock was on prearranged leave but once he had returned, the board and principal would meet the LSM and ministry staff to decide the scope of the work that needed to be done.
''The statutory manager is not taking over responsibility for the school, but the appointee, Mike Rondel, will bring significant governance experience to the role.
''His powers will relate to financial management and employment processes.
''The school board remains in place and responsible for all other governance functions.''
She said the majority of New Zealand schools operated successfully, but a small number developed difficulties or had unanticipated events they could not resolve without outside help.
''We always support schools to resolve problems themselves and only intervene as a last resort when there is risk present at the school that cannot be addressed in any other way.''
Mr Sincock could not be contacted yesterday.
Board of trustees chairwoman Emily Scott confirmed the board had requested a statutory manager to work alongside it to ''strengthen some of our systems''.
''We have no further comment to make until we have met the LSM and have developed a better understanding of the scope of their work.''
The South Dunedin decile 2 school has a roll of more than 300 pupils, many of whom are Syrian refugees.
It is the product of an amalgamation of the former Caversham, College Street and Calton Hill schools in 2011.
The former Caversham School site underwent a $5.6million redevelopment and Carisbrook is now one of the most modern schools in the city.
