Board of Hillcrest College stands by besieged principal Jeff Davis

The board of an embattled Gold Coast school is standing by its besieged principal, who has been under fire over allegations of bullying, the sacking of a senior staffer and loans to a private company, as controversy continues to rage at the school.

Controversy continues at the Gold Coast’s Hillcrest Christian College.

THE board of an embattled Gold Coast Christian college is standing by its besieged principal as controversy continues to rage at the school.

Hillcrest Christian College headmaster Jeff Davis has been under fire over allegations of staff bullying, the sacking of a senior staff member and hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to a private company set up to commercialise a reading program.

The State Government’s Non-State School Accreditation Board has launched a probe into complaints about the school’s operations while the independent Education Union has called for an independent investigation.

College chief operating officer Ray Deetlefs, whose daughter is a school captain, was sacked last week for what he described as ‘trumped-up’ bullying allegations.

He has vowed to take legal action over his dismissal and says it will ‘explode spectacularly’ in court.

Jeff Davis

Some parents are demanding Mr Davis, who earns more than $400,000 a year, be stood down pending the outcome of an investigation.

But as students returned to classes today following the school holidays, the Hillcrest board sent a letter to students staunchly defending Mr Davis.

“The College Board takes all complaints very seriously and, as such, sought external assistance to review these complaints,” the letter said.

“It was very important to us that the College followed due process in having the complaints about Mr Davis externally reviewed.

“The Board has now reviewed the external report which suggests some further steps and follow-up to be undertaken. The review has made recommendations which are presently being considered by the Board, however, it is very clear there are no grounds for termination of Mr Davis’ employment.

“Today, the Board reaffirms its continued support for Mr davis as Executive Head of College.

“This has been a difficult time for Mr Davis and his family, and the Board appreciates his resilience and continued leadership in ensuring this process has not disrupted teaching and learning at Hillcrest.

“It is the hope of the Board that the whole College community can accept the outcome of the investigations and the ongoing follow-up by the Board and continue to focus on providing the best for all our students.”