Separate the teachers, not the principal, from The Alexandra School.
That was the suggestion yesterday from Greg Forde, a former teacher at the St Peter institution, who said he was not picking sides but believed the school needed to be purged of the current crop of teachers – who were split in two factions – to let Jeff Broomes start afresh.
Forde, whose one-year stint at the St Peter institution ended in August 2011, told the Commission of Inquiry that while he got along well with all staff members he felt the division among them was not good for the school.
“I firmly believe that Mr Broomes has done everything in his power to keep the school running effectively. This, however, may be difficult without the support of the middle management team who appear to want to undermine him at every turn. It’s like . . . any opposition in any parliament in the world, just opposing measures for the sake of opposing them regardless of how good and necessary they may be,” he said in his statement to the commission.
“It is my strong belief that the school should be purged of both old and young staff. They should be split up among the 21 secondary schools. Mr Broomes should be allowed to continue as principal with a new body of teachers.”
