Hillcrest Christian College staff urged to pray amid turmoil

Staff at a beleaguered private school on the Gold Coast have been asked to pray as parents demand answers over a controversial business venture.

Hillcrest Christian College at Reedy Creek

STAFF are being asked to pray for an embattled Gold Coast Christian college as parents demand answers about a controversial business venture set up using school funds.

Hillcrest Christian College at Reedy Creek has been in turmoil, with principal Jeff Davis embroiled in allegations of bullying, two senior staff members stood down and the school chairman dumped at a heated annual meeting.

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The Independent Education Union has written to the school demanding an independent investigation into alleged bullying of its members by Mr Davis.

The school has previously acknowledged an internal investigation of bullying claims but refused to provide further details.

Private schools watchdog the State Government’s Non State-Schools Accreditation Board met this week to probe multiple complaints in relation to Hillcrest.

They include complaints concerning more than $600,000 in loans from the college to a company, I Love Reading Pty Ltd, directed by Mr Davis and two of the college’s board members.

Hillcrest Christian College principal Jeff Davis

I Love Reading has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses since it was set up in 2017 to try to sell a phonetic reading program used by Hillcrest to other schools.

Loans advanced by the Baptist Church-run college to the company have not been repaid, according to the school’s latest annual report.

The report reveals the college’s revenue and profit slumped last year as expenses soared by almost $3 million.

The school was also paying almost $1000 a week in rent on an Adelaide property leased by the literacy program’s developer.

Responding to the crisis this week, the school’s head of senior learning Dirk van Bruggen emailed staff urging them to “please continue to uphold our community in prayer during this time”.

Mr Davis also emailed staff yesterday “at the end of another tough week” saying he too was praying for the college.

He shared a glowing message from a teacher about the “remarkable” I Love Reading program and the “incredible results” it was achieving.

“I have received incredible phone calls, texts and emails supporting ILR,” Mr Davis told staff.

“The product is incredible and we can all be proud of this.”

But many parents are questioning the college’s decision to use school funds to set up a private company to commercialise I Love Reading.

“If Hillcrest does own I Love Reading when was it established that an off-side (sic) business would be created using school funds,” one parent asked on the Hillcrest P & F Facebook page.

“(It is) a risk to the school. We as parents need to know what’s going on.”

Hillcrest Christian College at Reedy Creek

The parent questioned why board members had ‘suddenly changes’ after the allegations were raised and ‘why aren’t people standing down during investigations to ensure the investigation is run properly and without interference?’

Other parents said the controversy was dividing the school community.

“Why is this all taking so long and damaging our beautiful Hillcrest that we have been a part of for so many years?” one asked.

One parent told The Courier-Mail that school fees had doubled since Mr Davis — who sources say earns over $400,000 a year — came to the college about four years ago, yet NAPLAN results had dropped “severely”.

“So we’re paying more and getting less for our money,” the parent said.

Mr Davis this week told The Courier-Mail I Love Reading was a wholly owned subsidiary of Hillcrest and the college was entitled to “any profits”.

“This program is used extensively and successfully at the college and has also been sold to schools across Australia,” he said.

The college has appointed “Christian solicitors” to conduct what it says is an independent investigation into the complaints.

Originally published as Hillcrest Christian College staff urged to pray amid turmoil