High-profile alumni fly to Sydney for Newington College ‘old boys’ vote
Almost 1400 former private schoolboys voted, and the results are in — the leaders of the Old Newingtonians Union have been dethroned amid a factional war over co-education plans.
NSW
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An anti-coeducation contingent of Newington College alumni has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, with “old boys” voting by a slim margin to eject their current leaders, taking one step closer to lawfare amid the gender stoush.
After a tense 16-hour wait for nearly 1400 ballots to be counted, the results are in — and a vote of no confidence in the Old Newingtonians Union (ONU) has passed, with 51 per cent in favour.
Opponents of the $43,000-per-year boys’ school’s move to go co-ed have accused the school of failing to consult former students, and moved to take down the board of their own union after ONU representatives on the College Council rubber-stamped the co-ed plan.
The school has repeatedly claimed the civil war among alumni will have no effect on the co-ed decision, which has already been set in motion.
Ahead of the ONU’s drawn-out special general meeting on Wednesday night, Newington College council chairman Tony McDonald wrote to the school community to “emphasise that the motions put forward, if successful, will not affect the College’s vision and future direction”.
“No ONU Council is able to make or change decisions of College Council,” he wrote.
The narrow majority of 1400 alumni voted, either in person or by proxy, in favour of all five resolutions, including declarations of no confidence in their own executive, the school council and headmaster Michael Parker.
The fifth resolution, “that the ONU Council use all available measures to see the reversal of the decision … to transition Newington College to coeducation”, passed with 717 votes to 675.
The old boys will meet again to elect new leadership, with an interim council of past presidents to organise the election.
In announcing the results to members, ousted president Alex Pagonis wrote that the outcome was “unfortunate”, and confirmed he had “no present intention” of re-nominating for the role.
“I have had the honour of being president of the ONU through 2020 to 2024 with a sole focus on building our alumni community and representing all Old Newingtonians,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that one issue has managed to divide our membership, as reflected in this SGM’s results.”
The vote opens the door for the “Save Newington College” faction, who have nominated pharmacist John Venetoulis to be the union’s next president, to access a “war chest” of old boy money to fund a future legal battle with the school.
Mr Venetoulis, an old boy and current parent, on Tuesday said the co-ed move amounted to a breach of contract by the school.
“They continuously said it wouldn’t happen in our lifetime … the College Council must honour their contract with parents.”
Mr Venetoulis said he was “very humbled and honoured” to be the presumptive nominee for the presidency, and if elected would make the views of the ONU “known very strongly” to the school council — including with legal action if necessary.
“It was a very, very, very close election. But whether you win by a whisker or the length of a straight, it’s a democratic decision and a win’s a win,” he said.
The Save Newington faction has demanded access to the school and its trust’s foundational documents, arguing going co-ed could be “a misappropriation of funds” if the school’s purpose is solely “for the education of sons”.
“An agreement is an agreement. Parents pay good money, and they’re aggrieved. When you’re paying forty grand, that contract means something,” Mr Venetoulis said.
“We don’t want to waste thousands of dollars, and if our legal department says ‘there’s nothing here’, we will walk away from it. But if our legal department says there is … we will pursue it.”
Sources inside the meeting, which ran into overtime on Wednesday night, said the discussions were civil, with speakers for and against given a chance to put forth their arguments.
“Alex Pagonis, the current president, chaired the meeting and did a good job in difficult circumstances for him,” one source said.
Another described it as an “anticlimax”.
“All that and two old blokes, one for co-ed and one against, had their day and everyone left.”
One old boy said the result was “not a decisive victory by any means”, after old boys close to, or employed by, the college rallied around the incumbents.
“I don’t think this was the mandate they were looking for ... but the spill was successful,” he said.
“The old president fell on his sword today.”
It comes in sharp contrast to heated scenes outside the meeting as nearly 800 former students showed up to vote. It is understood organisers were expecting in the order of 300 attendees.
High-profile alumni flew to Sydney for the SGM, including Perth-based ex-Fortescue executive Peter Thomas, who described the furore as “a scandal of transparency and governance”.
In a bizarre eleventh-hour twist, the ONU executive informed members on Tuesday night the five special resolutions proposed had been deemed illegitimate by an outside law firm, sending the email shortly after the deadline for proxy votes had passed.
Despite telling members they would vote on the first resolution — a motion of no confidence in the old boys’ board — as a plebiscite instead, the executive subsequently backflipped on the night.
City-based lawyer and Newington graduate Raymond Roser said the behaviour of some old boys has been “appalling”.
“It changed my whole life, going to this school,” he said.
“It breaks my heart to see a small group of individuals on both sides causing this division.”
While not staunchly in favour of or against the co-ed move, Mr Roser said the ONU’s role in the decision failed to reflect its members’ views, and revealing the resolutions had been scrapped after the deadline for proxy voting amounted to “deplorable conduct, unbecoming of a Newington boy”.
“The school says it (going co-ed) is about diversity and inclusion, but there’s nothing inclusive about a $40,000 school. If they truly wanted it to be inclusive, they would be charging $5000 per year.”
SCRAMBLE FOR BALLOTS AFTER UNEXPECTED TURNOUT
Hundreds of alumni of all ages have shown up for the special general meeting, many of them attracted by the unfolding drama, leaving the pollsters scrambling to find more ballots.
Estimates from security staff at the meeting put the attendance close to 1000, more than three times what was expected, and as the clock struck 9pm voter registrations for the meeting continued, delaying the vote by nearly two hours.
The long wait saw tensions boil over, when president Alex Pagonis attempted to pacify those still queuing by announcing the meeting open – allowing those fed up with the late start to cast their ballot and leave.
The announcement sparked a heated exchange with an old boy at the tail end of the queue which forced several old boys to step in, who told the man if he didn’t calm down he would be asked to leave.
More recent graduates skewed in favour of the co-ed change, while old boys of decades past proudly stuck ‘Save Newington’ stickers to their polo shirts and business suits.
Class of 2016 graduates Liam and Ewan, who declined to give their surnames, said they would be voting to keep the current ONU board, citing their favour of the co-ed move.
“You see so many headlines about toxic boys’ school culture, and I think all of us probably experienced that toxicity in some way,” Liam said.
“If co-ed education can soften that culture and bring it into 2024, I think that’s a net social good.”
Several men in the queue snaking around the venue commented that they simply wanted to see the saga resolved and held no strong opinions on the school’s gender make-up, admitting they were first-timers who would usually “skate over” emails from the ONU but showed up for the “juicy” proceedings.
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