Helping Principals achieve a successful outcome Fiona McMillan
LLB, BA, B Ed, PG Dip Ch Ad
1. The Legal Support scheme (the Scheme) operated by Principals’ Advice and Support Ltd (PASL) is designed to give employment related legal advice to principals. As the Scheme’s primary legal advisers we avoid advising Boards of Trustees, teachers, or support staff on issues which could involve a principal who belongs to the Scheme. This means we have no competing interests to balance in providing advice; our only concern is to achieve the best possible outcome for the principal in whatever difficult circumstances they are facing. 2. In our experience principals are so busy running the school, caring for students and staff, teaching, communicating with parents and the community, and working with the Board, that disciplinary or competency action against them comes as a huge shock. When principals first contact us under the Scheme, they often express a great sense of relief knowing that someone with broader experience agrees their treatment at the hands of their employer is not acceptable, and that they do not have to put up with it. 3. A principal who enjoys the support of the Board in dealing with a difficult situation usually does not require personal legal advice, but we still recommend the principal notifies us of the situation in case problems develop later on. There have also been some situations where independent advice for the principal has proved helpful despite the Board being supportive. 4. There are a number of common factors that can trigger the need for legal advice, and it can be helpful for principals to know that they are not alone in dealing (for example) with a rogue Chair, or unreasonable complainants who refuse to accept a decision. Nevertheless each situation is unique, and a solution that works in one situation will not necessarily be successful in another. 5. In addition the outcome the principal wants to achieve will differ from case to case. The following recent examples are of problems with a Board or LSM attempting to get rid of the principal without reasonable cause. Each principal wanted a different outcome, which required a different response to the employer in each case.
a. New principal remains in position. i. This principal was new to the school but had several years’ previous experience as a principal. The Board had appointed the principal in order to make changes and resolve issues in the school. ii. The new principal set to work enthusiastically but met serious staff resistance. After a rather rocky start the principal undertook some training, worked with her mentor, and reassessed her approach. She had the full support of her management team but faced a small group of disgruntled staff who led a very successful campaign against her, involving the union and school community. iii. Rather than looking into the causes and contributory factors objectively, the Board decided it was easiest to blame the principal and went through the motions of an investigation designed to reach a predetermined outcome. The Board instigated competency and disciplinary action, refused to follow a fair and reasonable process, and took legal action to try to force the principal to accept that despite her short tenure all the problems in the school were her fault. iv. The outcome this principal wanted was to keep her position; she wanted to work through the issues, and to continue to develop the school. Accordingly our advice was aimed at showing the Board there was a better option than fighting their principal. Nevertheless the principal required enough legal advice to reach the maximum payment available under the Scheme and eventually the Ministry appointed an experienced LSM who has supported the principal and criticised the Board’s behaviour towards her. b. Experienced principal finds a better position. i. In this case the principal held her own despite a very badly behaved Board making it practically impossible for her to properly perform her duties. The Chair constantly interfered in management but would not meet with the principal alone or on school property to discuss school business as she said she felt “unsafe.”
ii. Clearly the principal was not going to be able to work effectively under these conditions and someone had to go. We advised the principal on challenging the Chair’s behaviour and fighting for her position. The principal found another job (at a larger school) and was able to leave under her own terms. c. Experienced principal approaching retirement. i. In this case an LSM was appointed following a negative ERO Report. The experienced principal and the LSM worked well together, and when ERO returned, the school was returned to a 3 year cycle. ii. For reasons which remain unclear, the principal then found herself receiving a barrage of complaints from the LSM and trumped up charges of serious misconduct. The LSM’s goal appears to be to drive out the principal who is nearing retirement and just wishes to retire with dignity when she is ready. We are working on achieving that outcome by making clear to the LSM she will not achieve her goal using the current strategy. 6. We cannot prevent a Board having genuine concerns about a principal’s conduct or performance; our job is to ensure that the Board follows a fair and reasonable process in investigating those concerns. A reasonable process does not include telling the principal it would be better for everyone if the principal resigned. But it is surprising how often that happens, and when the principal contacts us for advice the Board then accuses them of escalating matters by involving lawyers, who are “unhelpful” as they get in the way of the Board’s plan! 7. As PASL’s legal advisers we work hard to avoid escalating matters into lawyer’s slanging matches which get
progressively harder to resolve. This helps keep the costs down for all members, and we often remain in the background advising the principal on dealing with the problem rather than confronting Boards head-on at the first hint of trouble. 8. But it takes two to keep something at a low level and it is not always possible. If the Board refuses to follow proper processes and is just trying to get rid of the principal we will get in the way, and we make no apologies for that. We prefer to be conciliatory but will not stand by and let a Board bully one of our principals; we have seen too many situations where a principal avoided making a fuss and kept on trying to appease the Board until they eventually appeased themselves out of a job. 9. The Board is not entitled to conclude there are problems with a principal’s conduct or performance without first carrying out a fair and reasonable investigation. The required process is set out in detail in the CEA, and its purpose is to make sure that any conclusion reached is likely to be correct. 10. It is usually easier to resolve problems when we have been able to provide advice immediately the problem arises. If a principal seeks advice from us and the concern is a Board matter or otherwise not within the scope of the Scheme we will say so; but it costs nothing to let us know. On the other hand, if a principal does not seek our advice when they should have, the principal’s right to legal support under the Scheme may be jeopardised. 11. We have been advising principals for twenty years or more and are here to help; so please contact us even if it is just to ask if you need to contact us. 12. If you would like more information about the scheme, to find out if your school already has this contract, or to obtain an application form, please email janine.race@crombielockwood.co.nz
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