Rural principal leaves school less than a month after reinstatement

GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF

Marco School parents removed their children from school for several days after the principal was reinstated.

A principal who was suspended and then reinstated at a troubled rural Taranaki school has left less than a month after she was given back her job.

Jennifer Vincent was suspended on full pay in February by the board of trustees at remote Marco School, and they then launched an independent investigation after parents raised concerns about her performance and competence. 

But the suspension was lifted last month following an April 3 Employment Relations Authority decision, which ruled she had a relatively strong, arguable case for unjustified suspension.

GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF

Principal Jennifer Vincent has resigned from Marco School.

More than 20 allegations had been made about her conduct at the school, which has a roll of 15, and sits on the Forgotten World Highway between Whangamōmona and Kohuratahi.

Parents had threatened to withdraw their children in protest if Vincent was reinstated.

The Ministry of Education has confirmed that children were absent from school for three days at the end of last term.

After the term one holidays the school reopened on Monday under an interim principal who is in place while a permanent replacement is found.

On Tuesday Vincent, who had been at the school for more than 12 years, said she was unable to comment, and the chair of the board did not return calls.

The Ministry of Education would give no details on Vincent's current employment situation.

"There is an interim principal in place while the board works through a recruitment process to permanently fill the position," Katrina Casey, deputy secretary of sector enablement and support at the ministry, said in a statement.

"We are aware that students were absent from the school for three days at the end of term one," she added. "We worked closely with the board and the school community to ensure the parents understood their obligation in relation to student attendance."

She said the ministry's focus was supporting the school to ensure the students were receiving high quality education.

"We continue to work closely with the school."

Police had received also received a complaint in early February.

"The investigation is in the stages of completion and at this stage no charges will be laid," a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In early February Vincent was suspended on full pay and two other staff members were placed on leave while the board investigated complaints made against her, according to the ERA decision. 

Teachers and parents had raised concerns about her performance and competence, and there were also allegations of misconduct, some of which were of a "potentially serious nature", the decision said.

There were historic and current complaints, including treatment of students and alleged failure to recognise a student's need for extra learning support. The board also had concerns about her actions following a complaint against her brother,  Rick Matthews, the school's caretaker. The board claimed Vincent defied an instruction from it that Matthews would not be on school grounds during the day, while the investigation was taking place.

It also claimed Vincent had been talking to the board chair's children about the matter involving Matthews and that she warned the children not to speak to their parents about this. The move went against instructions not to involve students. 

The board was also concerned about its inability to access school records previously contained in the school's IT system, and believed Vincent may have deliberately removed these, the decision said.

Vincent allegedly failed to maintain staff employment records and employed staff without the requisite police checks being carried out.

Authority member Trish MacKinnon said at the time of the decision there had been no investigation into the complaints or concerns, so threats to withdraw students were "premature and indicate[d] predetermination of the allegations".

"I would hope the board and the wider school community would reconsider the positions they have adopted."