All of the complainants were aged 15 and 16 when the incidents allegedly happened in 2021.
In a decision out today, the tribunal upheld the charge of serious misconduct against Latham Martin, a former Westland deputy mayor.
Mr Martin was employed at Westland High School at the time, but in a non-teaching role. He was also on the board of trustees including serving as board chairman.
A number of the boys said they were doing gardening or general work for him.
The charges include placing his hand near a crotch; making inappropriate comments to the students, such as: "I love you" and "I miss you"; and telling a student they could only eat chocolate if he "repaid'’ him with something.
He was also accused of sending inappropriate messages to students using Snapchat and Facebook messenger, and sending them photos of himself and of his girlfriend in a bikini, and allowing students to drive his vehicle without a licence.
One student told the Teachers Council: "As I got in Latham's truck I said my legs were sore. Latham said 'Oh, yeah, I know how to fix cramps', and reached with his left hand back and started rubbing my leg around my thigh".
"My friend got in the car. Latham told him, 'You make me so excited whenever I see you.'"
During a trip to McDonald's in Greymouth, when reaching back for fries he claimed Mr Martin held his hand "right over my crotch".
Responding to the claim, Mr Martin said he would not have been driving much, if at all, because of a serious injury he had sustained.
Another student said on a car trip: "I looked over my shoulder and saw Latham was trying to touch (name withheld) ... I thought he was reaching for the handbrake or something but he reached across and gave me a horse bite in the middle of my thigh".
A teacher doing security at a Wildfoods campground was approached by some of the boys and said they had been shown messages which said: "I want to come over, when are you free".
Westland High School called in the police, who passed the matter on to the Teachers Council.
Mr Martin denied the claims, and denied even making the trips to Greymouth by car, noting that even without any physical impairment from his accident, it would have been impossible to reach into the back left seat due to the size of the truck.
Cross-examination centred partly around whether there was a "grudge" against Mr Martin due to a school restructuring that had occurred.
But the tribunal said in its decision today it found there was an ongoing pattern of inappropriate conduct.
The teens were "credible and reliable young persons".
"Several of the complainants consistently stated that they wouldn't be wasting their time in giving evidence against Mr Martin, given their other commitments since they have left school".
There was an "unusual tendency on Mr Martin's part, while aged in his mid to late 20s, to have an over-interest in contact with teenage school boys".
The number of similar allegations of this unusual behaviour made the case stronger, the ruling said.
At a later hearing, "Mr Martin however asks us to accept that the conduct was essentially an aberration, occurring at a time when he was significantly affected from his accident".
"I acknowledge that my professional and personal boundaries have been weak and this has led to the blurring of my professional, private, and community roles and boundaries. … I accept that I should not have put myself in a position where I was alone with students or communicated directly with them," he said.
The decision said the tribunal was surprised on receiving Mr Martin's statement to see that he had been employed by Westland High School in a new fixed-term employment relationship, "given the proven conduct".
The school had not been provided with the earlier charge decision. The original complaint was taken to the police by the former principal Iain Murray.
This "undermines how he has attempted to portray himself to us'’.
The tribunal cancelled Mr Martin's registration and he was ordered to pay 50% of the reasonable Complaints Assessment Committee costs and tribunal costs, totalling $26,532.
It rejected a request for name suppression.
The decision included a letter from Westland Mayor Helen Lash, who said: "I am seeking some form of clarification on timeline to findings and release of this information as we now find ourselves in a very compromising situation with this regarding the roles Latham plays within our wider community".
