Trinity Grammar School community anger greater than Rohan Brown dismissal, writes Thomas Hudson
THE dismissal of Trinity Grammar deputy headmaster Rohan Brown cannot be defended. But the anger of the community is greater than this one dismissal, writes Trinity Old Boy Thomas Hudson.
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IN THE 13 years I spent at Trinity, I suspect Rohan Brown was never overly fond of me.
My self-assured attitude and untameable curly red hair would have frustrated the humble disciplinarian who has dedicated 31 years to the school.
I was lucky to work closely with Rohan, as well as Dr Michael Davies, as a committee member of the Old Trinity Grammarians’ Association (OTGA) from 2011-2016.
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In this recent crisis, two memories of my time on the OTGA stand out.
First, both Mr Brown and Dr Davies made an active effort to attend every meeting of the OTGA Committee, despite their packed schedules and the late hours that we would meet.
In contrast, I can recall only one meeting where a member of the school council joined us.
Instead of coming to listen and consult with a key section of the community, they came to tell us we were not doing enough to help the school raise donations.
Second, I remember vividly how Dr Davies described the mandate he had received from the school council with respect to the staff body: “Go shake the trees and see what falls out”.
These memories epitomise the two failures we have seen with the council in recent days: That they have disrespect for the school’s teachers and that they will not listen to the community.
Without doubt, the dismissal of Rohan Brown cannot be defended. The punishment is not proportionate to the incident, the family of the boy involved were not properly consulted, and the Council’s statements have been subsequently revealed as ‘untruths’ by the family.
A failure to be honest or respectful of the community is unforgivable. The appointment of two legal eagles is an unnecessary and exorbitant expense when the community has given a clear verdict that ‘Browny’ should return.
However, the anger of the community is greater than this one dismissal.
In the last four years, 152 staff have left the school — many with between 20-30 years’ experience. Teachers who were regarded as exemplars in their area of curriculum or in their pastoral care.
It is common sense that great teachers know each child and meet their individual needs. Such a radical turnover destroys any continuity in a child’s education and means teachers are starting from scratch too often.
In the last few days, I will concede that I have been in tears listening to several of my former teachers describing how the culture has changed since I left. They echo the description of a culture of bullying as summarised by the 2017 school leaders.
What’s worse is that the teachers are afraid to speak out in public for fear of retribution from the school.
Perhaps the tree was shaken so violently it has been uprooted.
I was one of the members of the community that signed the petition late last year supporting the Baumgartner family letter to school council.
It distressed me to read stories of the growing academic elitism and the allegations of “pruning” where weaker students, many with other siblings still at Trinity, were asked to leave so the school could improve an overall average.
These were heartfelt letters from students, parents, past teachers and alumni that highlighted dire issues in the school. Sadly, the Council were unwilling to listen when these concerns were raised by Mr Baumgartner.
They did not attempt to investigate any of these issues, choosing instead to dismiss Mr Brown some three weeks later.
Over the last two weeks, the council has continued to be disconnected from the community despite their promises of dialogue.
The current committee of the OTGA has been trying to set-up a meeting with the council since this issue first emerged. After the Town Hall meeting, the council ignored all requests for a meeting.
They dismissed the community resolutions as “OTGA Resolutions” and did not even offer a rationale why they should be set aside.
Countless parents have felt that the council has ignored them in recent days. Accounts of the recent Parents’ Association AGM are deeply troubling.
More than 300 people attended to register their voices, yet Fiona Connor — their representative on the school council — chose not to attend.
She sent a text message announcing she would be ‘standing down’ from her position.
A new parents’ representative was elected to join the council, though the school council has not yet accepted her nomination and have indicated they are unlikely to consider its worthiness before the AGM in late April, a month from now.
Ms Connor remains on the council in one of the two “democratic” positions, yet has lost majority support. The Parents Association chairman apologised for authoring a letter in support of the decision and conceded it was an overreach.
No formal vote was taken, but a show of hands gave 75 per cent support that the council should go, reaffirming the community’s Town Hall vote.
I do not endorse the personal attacks that have been made in recent days and I hope our community can remain civil.
However, I wholeheartedly support the position that the council must step down.
I am not alone in sharing this view. It is there in black and white in 6000 signatures, the vote of the Parents’ Association AGM, vocal student protests, public letters to the community and the unanimous vote for council to stand down by 1500 students, parents and alumni.
It is ironic that Christopher Bantick, my Year 10 English teacher who taught me 1984, has come out in the Herald Sun to defend a culture remarkably similar to Big Brother’s Oceania — that totalitarian state wherein the ruling party wields total power “for its own sake”.
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It is interesting the current staff have been instructed to not speak with the media at all, yet Mr Bantick has been able to pen this open letter of support to the principal.
From the conversations I have had with current staff, I would be confident that any vote taken would be at odds with Mr Bantick’s assessment.
I am aware the staff were taking a vote yesterday on something which we can only presume is related to the current turmoil. I can only hope these results will be presented to school council!
The council exists to ensure that students, parents and staff are cared for within our school, but they have failed in their mission if they do not respect us or listen to us.
I hope the council can realise that they have the power to end this crisis tomorrow — but to do so they must put the students ahead of their own self-interest and resign.
Thomas Hudson is a former Trinity Grammar student and former Old Trinity Grammarians’ Association committee member
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