Call for return of suspended principal
Parents and teachers picket to show support for Brian Isaacs
AGROUP of parents and staff members at South Peninsula High have come out in support of suspended principal Brian Isaacs, and are calling for his return to the school. Yesterday, the group participated in an early morning picket on Main Road, Plumstead, “to show support for Isaacs and his stance towards the Western Cape Education Department”.
The department suspended Isaacs last week “due to the seriousness of the allegations against you”.
Over the past few months, the department has brought a string of charges against Isaacs, while he has also made several appearances in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, where he is accused of transgressing noise nuisance by-laws related to announcements made over the school’s PA system.
Parent and teacher Faadiyah Myburgh said Isaacs’s supporters wanted him to return to his “rightful place at the school and supported the discipline structure in place at the school”.
“The parents who are in support of Mr Isaacs are in the majority. He has also taken a stance for all of us as teachers.” She said the pickets would continue. Last week the department’s spokesman, Paddy Attwell, said a notice of intention to suspend Isaacs had been given to him on February 26.
The notice of intention informed Isaacs that the department had received complaints that amounted to serious misconduct, while two other misconduct matters were pending. The notice also asked Isaacs to provide reasons why the department should not suspend him, but the department did not accept the response provided.
Isaacs was then issued with a notice of suspension on Friday. Attwell said the notice stated that “the suspension is a precautionary measure and does not form part of any sanction”.
Last month, the Cape Argus reported that Isaacs had been found guilty of four of six charges, including assault, at a disciplinary hearing.
He has maintained his innocence and said he would oppose the outcome of the hearing. Isaacs also said the magistrate’s court had withdrawn charges against him for the same assault case.
The second disciplinary hearing relates to several misconduct charges, two of which relate to letters published in the Cape Argus last year in which he criticised the department, and one charge that he showed disrespect to an official. This matter has not been concluded. On Friday, Isaacs told the Cape Argus he planned to take legal action against the department. “I will be applying for an urgent interdict against the department to enable me to return to my post. They are conducting a witch-hunt against me. This is an attack on my integrity.”
He previously stated that the department was targeting him because he had, over the years, spoken out against certain policies and decisions. The department has denied this.
THE PARENTS IN SUPPORT OF MR ISAACS ARE IN THE MAJORITY. HE HAS ALSO TAKEN A STANCE FOR ALL OF US AS TEACHERS