Principal appointments under a cloud at Tacoma, Eleebana public schools

Concerns first raised over Tacoma Public’s flawed principal recruitment process have been echoed at yet another local primary school.

Eleebana Public School and Tacoma Public School have united over concerns with their principal recruitment processes.

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Startling similarities have emerged from two schools with near identical principal recruitment concerns.

School communities from Tacoma Public School and Eleebana Public School at Lake Macquarie have united and made submissions to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over what they say are inconsistencies within the Department of Education’s merit selection processes.

The school communities recently connected after an Express Advocate report highlighted issues at Tacoma.

Tacoma Public School has questioned its principal merit selection process

Parents from Tacoma highlighted inconsistencies with their principal panel selection procedures, and questioned why acting principal Mandy Shaw was not given an interview for the top job.

Meanwhile, at Eleebana Public School, relieving principal Dr Carl Leonard was also not granted an interview.

Similarly to Tacoma, the Eleebana parent community launched a petition which generated more than 350 signatures, calling on the DET to conduct an “open and unbiased” recruitment process.

Eleebana parent Anna Colquhoun said the parent community were concerned about flaws in the DET merit selection process.

“We are saying this isn’t just one school’s experience, it’s a pattern of behaviour,” Mrs Colquhoun said.

Eleebana’s troubled selection process started in May 2018 and, after six months, only one candidate was interviewed.

Mrs Colquhoun said the first merit selection panel was unable to reach an agreement, while the second saw a teacher and parent representative stand down.

“Both schools had panel members who stood down due to feeling as though their opinions were not being heard,” she said.

Both schools found it baffling that two highly qualified acting principals were not given an interview for the top job

“Another similarity between the schools is that we both had well respected and highly capable applicants in the school that had a lot of support and weren’t even considered.

“In any high leadership role in the private sector, would it be adequate to interview only one candidate?”

She cited other similarities including conflicts of interest of panel members, common personnel and inadequate responses from the DET handling community complaints.

Mrs Colquhoun said there was a lack of transparency when the DET was questioned about the issues.

“We have repeatedly requested a meeting with the DET’s Human Resources Department or anyone up the chain but have been ignored,” she said.

She said the sense of community at Eleebana had been affected as a result of the DET’s actions.

Eleebana Public School is in Lake Macquarie

DET: “All enquiries and matters have been addressed”.

A DET spokesman said “the final panel decision for the appointment of the new principal from Day One Term 1 2019 at Eleebana Public School was a unanimous panel decision, with no minority reports”.

“A highly respected and experienced principal was the successful applicant through this appropriately convened process,” he said.

“School communities are represented in the appointment of principals through a parent representative on the panel, nominated by the school’s P & C.”

He said Eleebana’s P & C-nominated parent representatives were part of the merit selection panel at each step of this process.

“Every stage of the merit selection process followed the department’s recruitment requirements and advice,” he said.

“Panel members are aware that a condition of their acceptance of a place on the panel is that its deliberations are strictly confidential. All enquiries and matters have been addressed.”

Survey launched

Tacoma parent Christina Jones has also launched an online survey this week, aimed at giving DET teachers the opportunity to voice their opinions about merit selection processes and any other workplace issues.

“We want to see if this is a widespread issue,” she said. “People can do the survey anonymously.”

Click here for the survey.