You don’t have to search widely to find a principal who has experienced conflict with their Board of Trustees. Some cases have been very public, others less so, but without exception they are all stressful, and at times financially draining.
The position of principal carries with it a vast array of responsibilities and with that comes a greater risk of conflict. Conflict can derive from many sources including students, caregivers, staff, the community and the Board itself. In the end it is the Board’s responsibility, as employer, to answer allegations from complainants. Whilst the Board will have its own school insurance scheme to cover any legal costs it incurs, the principal may not.
The vulnerability of principals was always going to be an issue once the ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ policy of the late 1980s was implemented. In 1994, Nola Hambleton, an NZPF executive member who would later become President, set out to find a solution to protect principals. She first approached Dunedin couple, Alan and Janine Race, who had their own insurance broking business which had a strong connection to southern schools, well known in the education sector as school insurers.
‘We recognised there was a big hole for principals, when things went wrong,’ says Janine, who herself had had a career in the teaching profession. ‘Other professions had their own indemnity cover, but not principals,’ she said.
Janine and Alan set out to find a solution. They approached Anderson Lloyd Lawyers who were experienced in employment and insurance issues. Anderson Lloyd agreed to set up a hotline advice scheme for principals for a small fee. Nola asked Janine and Alan to also find them an insurance company so that principals could purchase an indemnity insurance to complement the hotline service.
The Australian based FAI Insurance Ltd agreed to provide indemnity insurance until their demise when the QBE Insurance Group Ltd took over. By now it had become apparent that the hotline was the key to the scheme’s success rather than the insurance.
‘The hotline was successful because Anderson Lloyd Lawyers were now becoming experts in the types of issues that left principals exposed,’ said Janine.
The scheme grew in popularity but the insurers were less enthusiastic so it was necessary to find a different approach more suitable for principals rather than an indemnity insurance option.
‘At the time there were over 300 principals in the scheme,’ said Janine, ‘so we needed to find alternative cover for them.’
Discussions ensued with Anderson Lloyd Lawyers and eventually a legal benefits scheme for principals known as Principals’ Advice and Support Limited (PASL) was created.
‘The scheme is not an indemnity insurance,’ says Janine. ‘It was clear that what the principals appreciated most was the hotline service and by increasing the fee, they would also be covered for, initially, the first $25,000 of any further legal representation.’
For the new scheme to be operational, it was necessary to build a pool of money from scratch. Alan and Janine Race, together with Anderson Lloyd Lawyers put up the capital jointly to establish the company and used their Crombie Lockwood business to administer the scheme. The scheme continued to grow in popularity with principals, especially as senior lawyer Barry Dorking and associate Fiona McMillan became more and more familiar with the unique requirements of schools, Board processes and procedures, and issues that affect principals.
‘The first step is always to try and de-escalate the issue, and many cases can be resolved at the lowest level. That’s not to say the scheme doesn’t handle some very complex situations that can go right through to the Employment Relations Authority.’
More and more, the cases coming to the hotline involve teachers claiming they ‘do not feel safe’ either in the presence of another teacher or with the principal. In some cases this may simply mean that the teacher is not getting their own way, but whatever has motivated the initial complaint, it requires resolution.
Fi McMillan took over as senior solicitor for PASL on Barry Dorking’s retirement, and being a former educator herself, she carries a significant proportion of the scheme’s workload and is now one of the most skilled employment lawyers in the education field. Fi had just returned from representing a principal in a case which had progressed all the way to the Employment Relations Authority, but which had at its core disaffected teachers who ‘did not feel safe.’
Fi says, ‘Issues become unnecessarily difficult to resolve when Boards do not follow the processes set out in the principals’ employment agreement and in employment law which requires open communication.’
Fi is happy to run seminars to explain to principals why legal protection is important. ‘We call it Tales from the Dark Side,’ says Fi. ‘We present “anonymised” cases which can sometimes shock, especially when a principal has been treated unjustly and where processes have been blatantly ignored,’ she said.
Some principals seem to be more at risk than others. Principals in smaller areas can be at higher risk, because smaller communities tend to be more tightly connected and the principal can find themselves isolated.
New principals bringing a different style of leadership can also be vulnerable. If staff have been used to an ‘authoritarian’ style of leadership and a new principal brings a more collegial approach, that may be seen as a weakness, but the opposite scenario can also bring discontent.
Sometimes on-going legal support is better delivered locally rather than through Dunedin based Anderson Lloyd. In such cases Anderson Lloyd will appoint a lawyer with significant employment law experience, preferably in the education sector, to provide the necessary legal support. It is statistically unlikely that a principal’s own lawyer would meet the criteria and the scheme only covers PASL appointed lawyers. Principals can join the scheme either in their own name or in the name of their school.
In 2013, Janine and Alan Race offered their shareholding to NZPF and subsequently, Anderson Lloyd did likewise, allowing PASL to become a wholly owned subsidiary of NZPF. On Janine Race’s retirement, Jacquie Kenton was appointed as the scheme administrator taking responsibility for all administration from Crombie Lockwood.
The Board of PASL is made up of two independent directors, Geoff Thomas as chairman and Alan Race, who remains involved in a governance role in the business, The NZPF Executive also elect two members to the board including the NZPF President.
The scheme now has 1270 members and maintains a strong and positive financial position.