My brutal week: school leader says she’s no snob
A board member of the PMSA, which governs four elite Queensland schools, has defended herself from claims of elitism after she resigned this week.
South West
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A member of the board which governs some of Brisbane’s best private schools has defended herself in an emotional letter after she stepped down earlier this week.
Bridget Cullen’s letter comes as parents at Brisbane Boys’ College claimed details of a Facebook set up by Dr Cullen were leaked in an effort to force her to resign.
One parent described the leak as an “assassination’’ by individuals determined to force out longstanding school leaders.
Dr Cullen said she was not elitist or “anti-poverty’’ and was herself from a middle class public school background.
She resigned on Thursday as a member of the board of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association, which governs four elite private schools including BBC in Brisbane’s inner west.
Her resignation was sparked after a backlash against a satirical Facebook page Dr Cullen set up following the theft of her BMW.
The page included obscenities and made disparaging references to people living in struggling suburbs such as Redbank Plains.
The embattled PMSA then had to release a second statement on Friday morning stressing that Dr Cullen’s actions were completely unacceptable to the PMSA board’’.
But Dr Cullen said in her letter that her posts were taken out of context and she had paid a high personal price.
“Dear all, having now resigned, I am writing to you in relation to the recent media surrounding me, my stolen vehicle, and the fictional parody that I created, in a misguided effort to obtain information about the criminal perpetrators,’’ she wrote.
“I have been under a significant amount of personal stress as a consequence of having been the victim of a home invasion and car theft.
“I mention this not to provide an excuse, but to provide context.
“I am not anti-poverty, or elitist. My fictional work was also a parody of privilege, and myself.
“I own my mistake in thinking that, as this was fictional satire written from the perspective of a character, that it would not be seen as an expression of my own views, and certainly not of any of yours.
“This week has been brutal and I have paid a high price in the context of an unpaid volunteer role, as have my children.’’
Dr Cullen went on to say she had worked to support herself and did not “grow up in the lap of luxury’’.
“I have watched my extended family struggle at times, to work and make ends meet,’’ she wrote.
“I know that life can be hard, and that sometimes hard work alone is not enough to be economically successful.’’
A BBC parent said Dr Cullen was immensely respected and had volunteered thousands of hours of her time, unpaid, serving the PMSA board and the school’s P&F.
“To have her assassinated by a staff member is just despicable,’’ they said.
“Bridget’s sole aim was to stop (alleged) nepotism at BBC and bring back the traditions that have served the boys and guide them to become decent adult citizens.
“There is clearly a push on to get rid of longserving staff, parents and Old Boys.
“One of them was the former deputy head of the junior school, Mark Griffith, who was one of the most loved masters BBC has ever had but was forced into premature redundancy.’’
Dr Cullen went on to say she unreservedly apologised for making the job of the school leadership more difficult.
“I have tried to be a good person and to live my Christian values,’’ she wrote.
“On this occasion, I have failed to be thoughtful about how others in our community might interpret this (Facebook posts).
“While my posts, and the media, might paint an unfavourable picture – it is not a picture of me, or the views I hold.
“Of course, it is also not representative of the PMSA’s views.’’
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