Staffer questions department processes following financial mismanagement allegations against former principal

A government school business manager has questioned why the NT Education Department failed to identify the alleged financial mismanagement of a former remote school principal given protocols currently in place.

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A GOVERNMENT school business manager has questioned why the NT Education Department failed to identify the alleged financial mismanagement of former Milingimbi School principal Jennifer Lea Sherrington given the protocols currently in place.

An investigation by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption alleged Ms Sherrington spent $507,796 between 2015 and 2019 on travel for “other school business” by charging it to the Principal’s Initiative cost code.

She is also alleged to have falsified student attendance figures in an attempt to secure an additional $1.4m for Milingimbi School in a single school year. The investigation recommended the department urgently review its approach to administration arrangements in relation to school autonomy, budgets and the School Resourcing Model.

It recommended the review of administration arrangements should include the Principal Initiative code and guidance, cash and credit funding components, discretionary expenditure, travel, gifts, benefits and hospitality, and more.

However, a government school business manager, who didn’t want to be named, questioned why the department didn’t identify the alleged financial mismanagement given current processes.

The staffer said each school was required to send reports to the department on the 10th day of each month.

“Every single transaction is visible to them every month,” the staffer said.

“There’s an inference that the school has been responsible for it, but it’s their (the Education Department’s) responsibility to have that oversight and they aren’t doing their job.”

The staffer said in their time as a school business manager they had never had their monthly reports queried or questioned by staff within the department tasked to manage budgets. “Not one single query, not one single comment,” the staffer said. “If they did their job properly this wouldn’t have happened.”

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An Education Department spokeswoman said she could not comment further.

“The Department of Education has supported in principle the recommendations from the ICAC public statement,” she said.

“The department has commenced working through these recommendations and as such will not be providing further comment at this stage.”

Ms Sherrington denied the allegations and a letter from her legal representation read: “Ms Sherrington had a cogent and exculpatory explanation for each and every allegation, which explanations she gave in great detail in her examination.

“Her answers are all available to be read in the transcript, and in her documents supplied at the end of her examination.

“However, the contents of the draft report confirm she has simply not been heard.”