Major staff shake-up at Hillcrest Christian College
A strife-torn southeast Queensland Christian college has announced two major staff appointments amid a fresh wave of upheaval.
QLD News
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A CHURCH pastor has been appointed human resources boss at an embattled Gold Coast private school as part of a major staff shake-up amid a fresh wave of upheaval.
Anne Thomas is a senior pastor at the same church attended by besieged Hillcrest Christian College principal Jeff Davis.
She is one of more than 20 members of OurChurch at Burleigh Heads, including some of Mr Davis’s relatives, now employed at Hillcrest, school sources say.
The college, with about 2000 students, is run by the Reedy Creek Baptist Church.
Mr Davis has been under fire over allegations of bullying, the suspension and sacking of senior staff and hundreds of thousands of dollars in school loans to a private company set up to commercialise a reading program.
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The college announced today that Mrs Thomas had been appointed to replace former HR boss Jane Holder who was stood down, along with former chief operating officer Ray Deetlefs, earlier this year.
A furious Mr Deetlefs recently launched Federal Court action seeking his immediate reinstatement and damages but struck a confidential settlement with the college before the case went to hearing.
In a letter to staff on Thursday, Mr Davis said Mr Deetlefs and Ms Holder had resigned and would not be returning to the school.
He said the head of the college’s IT department had also resigned and two other senior staff members were on leave.
Mr Davis announced that in order for the college to ‘cope’, several senior staff had been appointed to acting positions.
They included Mrs Thomas, “who will be based in the HR office to deal with most HR issues that arise”.
“I would like to thank these staff members for stepping into these new roles at short notice. I pray that God will bless each of you with the wisdom needed to undertake these roles in the best possible way.”
Mr Davis’s daughter, Keily Hudson, and her husband Thor are both teachers at Hillcrest College.
The principal came under fire in May after his wife Lynne and son Josh joined a burly security guard to stop people including Hillcrest board members from attending a heated annual meeting at the college.
In a statement, Mr Davis said: “All Hillcrest Christian College staff have been appointed after an open recruitment process based on individual merit. An affinity with the Christian values of the College is one of a number of important considerations in our recruitment process.”
Earlier this month, disgruntled Hillcrest parents launched a petition calling for Mr Davis to be stood down and an independent investigator appointed.
The Independent Education Union has also called for an independent investigation into bullying allegations against Mr Davis, and the State Government’s Non-State Schools Accreditation Board has been probing multiple complaints concerning the college.
Earlier this month, the college board publicly affirmed its support of Mr Davis and said there were ‘no known grounds’ for his termination.
Some parents have also launched a Facebook page supporting the school as the crisis drags on.
Originally published as Major staff shake-up at Hillcrest Christian College
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