School ‘struggling’
Difficulties for college in teacher laptop police probe
A former board member of a school at the centre of a police laptop probe says small rural schools lack the expertise to deal with complex governance issues.
Paul Singh welcomes a ministerial review of Tomorrow’s Schools – the self-governing model of the past 30 years – saying major reforms will help small communities match achievements of bigger city schools.
Singh has just resigned from the board of O¯ torohanga College, which had been dealing with a string of complaints against senior teacher Sean Gerard Cassidy.
In November, police seized a school laptop used by Cassidy after the college made a complaint relating to alleged objectionable material.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson said the investigation into Cassidy was ongoing and police weren’t looking to lay charges at this stage. The school has received six complaints of inappropriate behaviour by Cassidy; five have been resolved and the teacher has resigned; the sixth was handed over to police.
Speaking to the Sunday StarTimes last week, Cassidy said he had done nothing illegal or inappropriate, and police would find nothing of concern on his laptop. He has given a written undertaking not to teach.
Singh said his decision to step down was unrelated to Cassidy but the laptop probe coincides with a change of leadership at the college, with the school’s principal and one of its deputy principals leaving to take up new roles. A limited statutory manager was brought in to lead the school in October.
Singh, who had oversight of Otorohanga ¯ College’s finances, rejected suggestions the school was in crisis – but he said the board did need support.
‘‘It’s difficult for volunteer parents to run such complex organisations as schools. It’s fair to say they’re more complex than they were in 1989 when Tomorrow’s Schools came in,’’ he said.
The report into Tomorrow’s Schools recommends education hubs take over many of school board of trustees’ HR, property and finance responsibilities.
Despite heads of some bigger urban secondary schools slamming the report, Singh said reforms were needed to help smaller colleges.
‘‘We’re basically a good example of a school that perhaps is struggling,’’ he said. ‘‘I think there are a lot of smaller provincial colleges that are struggling, they just don’t realise it. The hub concept with education experts and skilled board members are needed.’’
O torohanga College statutory manager Paul Matthews said the school received half a dozen messages of support following last weekend’s news of the Cassidy investigation.
Former Cambridge High School principal Phil McCreery has been appointed acting principal of O torohanga College. The school expects to advertise for a permanent replacement by late February.