Kimberley College hit by claims of nepotism, financial irregularities

A PRIVATE school south of Brisbane has been rocked by accusations of nepotism amid a controversial probe into its finances.

Kimberley College and principal Paul Thomson (inset)

• School audited, divided
• Law firm on site

A LOGAN private school has been rocked by accusations of nepotism amid a controversial probe into its finances.

Former teachers of Kimberley College have told The Courier-Mail that wages and superannuation contributions were paid irregularly while pay slips were not provided.

Law firm MinterEllison launched a probe into the college’s financial management about two weeks ago following concerns raised by the Australian Taxation Office, the college’s banks and auditor.

Amy Ferguson, who is the daughter of principal Paul Thomson, was managing the school’s finances until recently.

The college also fielded bullying complaints almost a decade ago with anonymous complainants raising concerns with the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.

In a letter obtained by The Courier-Mail, dated November 2008, it was alleged Mr Thomson said to students, “You can take me on and your parents can take me on but you won’t win,” and warned students if they misbehaved while attending the semi-formal, “he would take them outside behind the bush and put them over his knee and give them a good spanking”.

It is understood the NSSA has undertaken two cyclical reviews, which look at governing processes, at the college during the last three years.

One source says members of the school community want the issue ‘put to bed’. Picture: Mark Cranitch

In a letter to parents on May 11, board chairman Paul Wilton said: “An independent expert review is the only viable option in this circumstance — it is looking at processes and systems for managing the college’s finances, and does not include any review of education delivery.”

One former teacher said many former staff, students and parents welcomed the probe, and believed it was a long time coming.

“I made the mistake of asking for pay slips and inquiring about why I wasn’t getting paid on time,” they said.

The former teacher, who claimed the college’s non-traditional teaching methods were not academically challenging, said people had left the school feeling their concerns were not being addressed.

Another source told The Courier-Mail Mr Thomson cared about his students, however morale among teachers was low and had been for some time.

“We want to see this put to bed.”

Two petitions were recently created — with one calling for Mr Thomson to be sacked and another calling for him to stay.

Mr Thomson has not yet returned calls.

However in a post made on the school’s Facebook page last Friday, Mr Thomson said “What is happening now with regard to my reputation is slander by innuendo. I am, for legal reasons, unable to defend myself. However as the saying goes, I will have my day in court, where the truth will be revealed.”

Another former teacher claimed there were issues with pay slips while superannuation contributions weren’t paid regularly.

“You’d get pay slips once a year, you got a bulk run-off of them,” they said.

“There were instances of [the school] not letting people do the QCS.

“I just hope it all blows up.”

Accusations of pay slip errors were echoed by another former teacher who said staff didn’t sign contracts.

“There is no external professional development,” they said.