New commissioner appointed while search for permanent principal underway
Months after losing its principal, an Auckland-based school just lost its entire board of trustees after news broke last year that the organisation hired a rapist as a teacher aide.
Parents of students enrolled in the school received on Tuesday a letter from the Ministry of Education saying the entire board left after eight months of "challenging time."
"The overwhelming sentiment of the letters of resignation was that [the school has] the opportunity for a reset," the letter to parents said as quoted by Stuff.
The board's departure follows the news that the school hired a teacher aide with a rape background. According to Stuff, the aide raped one young woman and sexually violated another when he was aged between 14 and 17.
Hours after Stuff revealed his background in September, the teacher aide quit. The school's principal, who was closely related to the employee, also went on leave two weeks later before resigning.
An independent investigator found that "certain procedural and legislative requirements were not fully met" when the teacher aide was hired, the New Zealand Herald reported.
In the principal's departure, she said she considers the move to be "in the best interests of the school and community," Stuff reported.
The board retracted its initial support to the principal in her hiring decision, after they previously assured that no students were put at risk over the departure. They also refused to share further details about the investigation as it "relates to a confidential employment matter," reported Stuff.
The principal has since been replaced by a statutory manager to head the school. This official, however, will now take over as commissioner at the board's absence, according to reports.
"As the commissioner, he will have the responsibilities and authorities of the board. The day-to-day running of the school will continue to be led by the acting principal and the senior team," the Ministry of Education said as quoted by the Herald.
Leisa Maddix, Ministry of Education acting north leader, also told the Herald that the search for a permanent principal is already underway.
No timeline for a board re-election has been laid out, however, as the leader noted that there are still Education Review Office (ERO) recommendations that need to be carried out.
"There are some recommendations from ERO and some matters that need to be addressed and improved that I will be ensuring to have in place so that the new board comes in where a line has been drawn," Maddix told the Herald.
