Board of St Stephen’s College at Upper Coomera accused of ineptitude over former principal

The board of an elite private school has been accused of ‘gross ineptitude’ after the shock exit of a principal amid allegations she created an unsafe workplace, with more than 100 staff leaving during her tenure.

the board of St Stephen’s College at Upper Coomera has been accused of “gross ineptitude”. File picture

The board of an elite private school has been accused of “gross ineptitude” after the shock exit of a principal amid allegations she created an unsafe workplace.

Following the departure of Kim Cohen from Saint Stephen’s College on the Gold Coast in February, members of the school community have questioned why the board did not act sooner – and why they have not been removed from office.

During Mrs Cohen’s three-year tenure as principal, more than 100 staff left and many took stress leave and sought counselling, The Courier-Mail understands.

“A very large number of people were extremely unhappy for so long,” one former staff member said.

“The job of the board of an independent school is to appoint the principal and manage that person’s performance, but it seems there was no effective oversight,” they said.

A current member of the school community said: “It appears that the school’s board failed to perform its most important duties – if Mrs Cohen had to go, why doesn’t the board have to do the same?”

Saint Stephen’s College former principal Kim Cohen left the school in February.

The source said school boards could make mistakes but questioned what Saint Stephen’s did about Ms Cohen’s performance.

Another former staffer said: “Concerns about the principal were being raised with the board – there was no sense of follow up, so people gave up taking things to the board because they believed nothing was going to happen.

“For the board to hold on so long is gross ineptitude.

“Lots of staff have been getting counselling – this could have been avoided if the board had acted earlier.”

The Courier-Mail put several questions to board chair Ken Petty, including why the board did not act sooner and what steps, if any, were taken to remediate Mrs Cohen’s alleged behaviour.

Mr Petty was also asked to respond to allegations the board did not address staff complaints, resulting in a loss of faith by staff in the board, which stopped others coming forward to make a complaint.

In an emailed reply, Mr Petty said: “The board has commenced the appointment of an independent reviewer to engage with college staff members, and to ensure an appropriate framework is in place to support the identification and resolution of any concerns.”

Mr Petty also said Janelle Anderson, previously principal of Faith Lutheran College at Plainland, had been appointed interim principal, commencing on April 11.

He said the board would “conduct an extensive recruitment process” to appoint a new principal for the 2024 school year.

Kim Cohen’s resignation on February 28 followed Mr Petty receiving a detailed letter from lawyers, engaged by staff, outlining concerns about the school and Mrs Cohen’s alleged behaviour.

In the February 21 letter, lawyer Efthimia Voulcaris, of Devaneys, alleged that staff told of “fear of reporting psychosocial hazards and safety concerns relating to themselves or others”.

“Current or former staff that I have spoken with raised with me that the college is not a psychologically safe workplace,” Ms Voulcaris said.

The causes of that fear and those safety concerns were redacted from the letter.

Ms Voulcaris’ letter went on to allege the college did not appear to have a complaints management framework, and current and former staff had approached the board directly with their allegations against Mrs Cohen.

“If the board has received the same information that I have, the board is on notice that there is a serious risk to the safety of staff at the college,” she said.

“I also must inform you that the information I am receiving also indicates that some of individuals who are raising concerns with me have now lost faith in the board to deal with this issue (given that they know others have gone to the board and the board has not acted swiftly to appoint an investigator and mitigate the risk to the health of staff). I am instructed that this loss of faith is also preventing others from coming forward to make a complaint.”

Mrs Cohen was contacted by The Courier-Mail for comment but did not respond.

She is now a self-employed leadership consultant, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“During my time as a principal, I have been dedicated to providing staff with opportunities to develop and supporting them on their individual leadership journeys,” her profile states.

“I constantly seek ways in which to lighten the load of teachers, who so often burn the candle at both ends in order to provide the very best education to our young people.

“The role of a principal is that of a CEO and is thus multifaceted. Strategy, staff wellbeing and development, budgeting, financial acumen, marketing, client and stakeholder relationships, communication, mediation, advising, counselling, networking, collaborating, overseeing projects, legislation, compliance and risk, WHS, EBA negotiations and, possibly most importantly, the creation and maintenance of a positive culture, are all in a day’s work.”