Thousands of dollars of stashed cash found in locked room at Kimberley College

A FILING cabinet stuffed with tens of thousands of dollars in cash has been found in a locked room at the controversial Kimberley College south of Brisbane.

Wads of cash and coins were found in safe in a locked room at Kimberley College.

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A FILING cabinet stuffed with wads of cash totalling more than $30,000 has been found at Kimberley College in a locked room.

Staff at the college in Carbrook, south of Brisbane, were forced to break into the locked room after the keys could not be located.

The staff were looking for keys to an alarm system, but instead they found cash, coins and a number of cheques dating back to 2011 inside the room.

A safe filled with more money was also found within the cabinet and had to be broken into.

Adviser to Kimberley College’s board Mike Millard said the school had “no clear record” of the cash, where it came from or why it was not banked.

The money was counted and deposited at the bank.

“There has been some suggestion that the moneys may relate to bus ticket sales where students have paid the college to use the bus services arranged for students,” Mr Millard said.

“But at this stage that theory is not verified. Some money is also likely to be from tuckshop sales and student fundraising for various charities.”

Mr Millard said once staff discovered the cash, law firm Minter Ellison were contacted as well as forensic accounting firm GT Advisory and Consulting, that has been auditing the school since May.

The school has been audited after claims of financial mismanagement.

GT Advisory and Consulting has since deposited the cash into a trust account.

“Once the investigation is complete the college will make a statement,” Mr Millard said.

The cash is the latest incident to rock the school after it was at the centre of a financial probe regarding allegations of financial mismanagement currently before the Federal Court.

Mr Millard, former principal of Calvary Christian College, recently announced his role would continue into this term to help get the school back on track.

He said he would be concentrating on “practical matters” including enrolment applications for 2019, next year’s Budget and “responding to around 5000 unread emails”.

Meanwhile, the college’s board will remain in place until the school’s annual general meeting later this year following a Federal Court ruling this morning.

It comes after college members including former principal Paul Thomson and family members called for the resignation of the board, claiming it had not been validly appointed.

However the court ruled this morning that the directors, including chairman Paul Wilton, would remain on the board until the college’s AGM that will need to be held by November 30 this year.

It is understood members of the board are considering standing down at that meeting.

Minter Ellison’s Scott Reid said this morning’s consent orders were an important step forward and set a platform for on-going discussions between the board and all members of the college community.

“The board will be working with all stakeholders to take the college forward,” he said.

The final GT Advisory and Consulting report into the college’s financial position and on its financial management will be presented to the board in coming days.

The Courier-Mail has also learnt that the Non State School’s Accreditation Board has recruited McGrathNicol to undertake their review into the school.