Trinity Grammar headmaster resigns following haircut drama
A Melbourne headmaster targeted by electronic billboards after his deputy was sacked for cutting a student’s hair has stood down.
A Melbourne headmaster targeted by electronic billboards after his deputy was sacked for cutting a student’s hair resigned today.
Trinity Grammar principal Michael Davies told staff at a meeting last night he was stepping down after discussions with his family.
Dr Davies had recently welcomed his deputy Rohan Brown back to the school after an independent inquiry found his dismissal by the Trinity Grammar school council was unjustified.
“Having successfully resolved some complex matters over recent weeks, I am now content that our hard work in recent weeks has helped the school return to a position where students and staff are enjoying the normal rhythm of school life,” Dr Davies said in a statement.
Dr Davies became the target of parent ire over the sacking of Mr Brown in early March for cutting a student’s hair.
Mr Brown returned to his post in April after an inquiry by Ray Finkelstein QC found the school council did not have the power to sack him. Most of the council resigned in the wake of the incident.
At one point during the student-parent campaign to return Mr Brown, electronic billboards were seen in the streets of Kew calling for Dr Davies to step down from his position.
The beleaguered principal, who has led Trinity for four years, had previously been in conflict with the Trinity Old Grammarians Association for his school strategy.
The Old Boys had said was too focused on academic results rather than the school’s traditionally liberal values.
Trinity Grammar chairman Robert Utter said in a statement that the school was sorry to hear of Dr Davies’s departure.
“Over the past four and a half years, Dr Davies has been instrumental in the school’s continuing evolution as a leading private educational institution,” he said.
Former Carey Baptist Grammar principal Phil De Young will take over as interim headmaster.
“I am very much looking forward to engaging with the broad Trinity community in a partnership that allows the best interests of the school’s current and future students to be nurtured,” Mr De Young said.
“This should be our primary objective.”
Trinity’s interim school council will start the search for a new headmaster when it takes office on June 1. The search is expected to take several months.
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