SA educator fears his more than four decades long career is over after $5 disagreement

Dr Nigel Jamieson has not worked in about three years since a report was filed against him after a disagreement over $5.

Nigel Jamieson has been an educator for more than 40 years – but he fears his career could be over after being blindsided by the repercussions of a years-old dispute over a $5 out of school hours care fee.

Dr Jamieson, 68, was director of the Woodside Primary School OSHC in 2021 when a boy turned up one day who wasn’t enrolled for the service.

Dr Jamieson said since the boy was cared for that day and given a meal, a $5.40 fee was charged.

But after a complaint was made, the school told him to give a refund.

He refused and quit over the issue.

“It undermined my position,” Dr Jamieson said.

“It was the principle of the matter and I refused to play that game.”

Dr Jamieson took time off work but applied to be director of the Goolwa Primary School OSHC in September 2023.

Educator of more than 40 years, Nigel Jamieson, said he can’t get work in schools after an incident involving a $5 payment. Picture: Mark Brake

He says he was told he had the job – and was even invited to a meeting – pending a background check.

But when the offer was retracted, he was baffled and hired a lawyer to look into the matter.

Documents his lawyer obtained under Freedom of Information laws revealed that, unbeknown to him, the Woodside school had filed an incident report with the Education Department in late 2021 claiming maladministration.

The report said the Woodside OSHC did not notify school administration that the boy had presented for the service.

The issue was never resolved due to his resignation.

Dr Jamieson believes he lost the Goolwa role due to the mischaracterised maladministration report but says “I don’t think they knew what the red flag was”.

“Financially it has been crippling,” Dr Jamieson said of his situation.

“I’ve seen positions I could have applied for but I realise … I don’t have any chance of employment as it (the report) will presumably come up (each time).”

He said it was “ridiculous” that he could not get a job at an OSHC when “in regional areas they’re really crying out for qualified staff”.

Last month, Dr Jamieson wrote to the Education Department asking for his record to be wiped clean.

The response, dated July 24, said that the report “is a permanent record”. But the department offered to arrange contact with Goolwa OSHC “to discuss the department’s record-keeping obligations”.

“The decision to employ staff in the OSHC is theirs to make,” the email said.

In a statement to The Advertiser, a department spokeswoman said there was no “flag” against Dr Jamieson’s name in their system which prevents him from working in an OSHC.

She also said personal details of staff or former staff are not provided to school sites.

“It is suggested to hiring managers that they obtain reference reports from other employers (including former site leaders) before making final decisions regarding employment of candidates,” the spokeswoman said.

“There is not a review mechanism within the department for OSHC recruitment processes … employment decisions are at the discretion of the individual school site.”