"People have a huge vested interest in making it work - there's a lot at stake," WHS limited statutory manager Peter MacDonald said.
The Christchurch lawyer was appointed to investigate the school's problems following a damning Education Review Office (ERO) report released in February which exposed tensions at the school between teachers and senior management citing "communication, consultation and change management ... negatively impacting on aspects of the school's operation".
A veteran education reviewer, Mr MacDonald has previously been made a statutory manager seven times - in the case of Wakatipu High the position gives him the powers of the board of trustees specific to employment.
Visiting the school weekly, he is halfway through the "time-consuming" confidential "scoping" interviews with 60 teachers, heads of department, senior managers and board members. He expects to finish this process by the end of the month.
"I'm simply learning and listening to what they are telling me ... if there are changes to be made, those changes would likely be all about streamlining the school's organisational structure to improve upward and downward communication."
He said the school was "no more than a large organisation - large organisations have problems communicating and Wakatipu High School is no different."
The "level of commitment" to the ministry's intervention at the decile-10 school was "beyond what I've seen at other schools", Mr MacDonald said.
He suspected this "enthusiasm" was because WHS is Queenstown's only secondary school, a big employer and a crucial community hub.
"People are saying the ERO report is not unfair - they can see it's a good idea to review just how effective our communications are," he said.
School board chairman Alistair Nicholson was pleased with Mr MacDonald's assessment of the investigation so far.
"I agree with his point that there is a recognition that the ERO report identified problems and there's a willingness to tackle the issues by all parties - staff, senior management, board members and the community," he said.
After Mr MacDonald has interviewed the remaining parties and some parents, the next step will be a general discussion - if required.
From there, a "proposal for change" would be drafted, followed by consultation with staff and the board with input from the Post-Primary Teachers Association, before final decisions were made.
