SCHOOL OF HARD

NEW documents suggest the move to close Shalom Christian College was as much about protecting the Uniting Church’s balance sheet as it was about student welfare.

A Renewal Strategy document, obtained by the Bulletin, states the school presented a high level of financial and reputational risk to the Uniting Church Property Trust.

The document, dated this month, outlined extensive recommendations to strategically improve Shalom’s facilities, management and processes.

It did not recommend closing the senior school.

The Uniting Church cited student welfare and safety as the reasoning for the closure.

The decision was made soon after the document’s publication to no longer take enrolments for secondary students or boarders, as revealed by the Bulletin this week.

Teaching staff and students were not informed prior to the Bulletin breaking the story on Monday morning.

Students have protested the announcement on campus, vowing to fight for their school to remain open.

Uniting Church Queensland moderator the Rev David Baker said the “heartfelt decision” was only made when the church believed all possible options to keep the school open were exhausted.

“To close a school, in this case, initially the secondary and boarding aspects, cuts against the grain of every aspect of our ethos and mission and has required thorough review and faithful assessments,” Mr Baker said.

“However, the decision to no longer offer secondary education and boarding beyond 2017 was made based on a thorough assessment of the school’s ability to meet the educational, spiritual and personal needs of the students.”

When asked what “reputational risk” Shalom posed to the Property Trust and if the risk outweighed the education of regional and rural indigenous students, Mr Baker declined to answer directly.

“This question is offensive. The interests of our students have been the sole determining factor in this decision,” Mr Baker said.

“The Uniting Church stepped in to save Shalom Christian College in 2013 after it went into voluntary administration and has made a very significant financial and emotional commitment to the students, staff and the school over many years.”

Townsville indigenous leader Gracelyn Smallwood said the lack of transparency from the church was “insane”.