Australia's most epic parent-teacher row EVER finally ends after an extraordinary social media stoush sparked a late-night ambush on a principal's home forcing her husband to pull a knife on attackers
- Tracey Brose, principal from Queensland school sued parents for defamation
- Parents falsely labelled her as 'lying bully' on Facebook and Change.org pages
- Miguel Baluskas stormed her home, smashing a window during ongoing battle
- Judge Catherine Muir ruled in favour of Brose, ordering the couple pay damages
Tracey Brose, principal at Tamborine Mountain State High School in Queensland, took legal action against a group of parents over derogatory comments made against her in 2016
A group of parents launched an extraordinary campaign of online harassment against a school principal -with one angry father ambushing her at home.
Tracey Brose, the principal at Tamborine Mountain State High School on Queensland's Gold Coast, took legal action against a group of parents over derogatory remarks they made about her in 2016.
The remarks began after other parents started a Change.org petition to encourage the education minister to reinstate Ms Brose following her temporary suspension.
On Facebook, and in the comments section of the petition, some parents wrote defamatory statements about Ms Brose, with one even claiming she was a 'lying, manipulative bully, who gets off by belittling as many people as she can'.
A number of parents from Tamborine Mountain, the only state high school in the small community of just 7000, chose to remove the comments.
Others had planned to argue their case in court but later settled when Ms Brose asked for $150,000 in damages.
But parents Donna and Miguel Baluskas refused to give in, spending four years trying to prove they were the victims.
The battle between the parents and principal turned volatile when Mr Baluskas turned up to Ms Brose's home late on the night on May 21, 2018.
Donna and Miguel Baluskas refused to give in and spent four years trying to prove they were the victims
He demanded she let him inside, but she refused.
Mr Baluskas' told them to 'open the door and talk to me or I'll open the door myself'.
Shocking footage of the incident shows Mr Baluskas smashing the glass window of Ms Brose's family home as he attempted to force his way inside.
Ms Brose's terrified children ran upstairs and barricaded themselves inside a cupboard.
His 25-minute attack on the principal's family home only ended when Ms Brose's husband threatened the furious parent with a knife.
Balukas has since been convicted of unlawful damage, 60Minutes reported.
Share this article
Ms Brose said the defamation case wasn't about money, but about a judge telling the parents to stop their campaign of abuse.
'I don't need money I don't need damages, I need her to say this is not okay and needs to stop. Because if she doesn't say it needs to stop what then? Next week they get back online and write more stuff? They're bashing at your door again?
'What happens to educators if we can't feel safe doing our jobs?'
Mr and Mrs Baluskas have had a vendetta against Ms Brose since their son Harrison was expelled from the school for making a 'silly' comment on a school bus.
Trudy Arnold (pictured) admits she made her comments about Ms Bose after a few bourbons
Donna Baluskas (pictured) had a vendetta against Ms Brose since her son Harrison was expelled from the school for making a 'silly' comment on a school bus
Mr Baluskas admits things got heated during the initial meeting.
He told the deputy principal to 'shut up' and 'stare out the window'.
'I'm here to talk to the head not the a**e.'
When they saw comments being made against Ms Bose online, they decided to join in, falsely saying 'she’s nothing but an evil nasty horrible person'.
'What she did to our son was evil,' Ms Baluskas said.
Screenshots of those comments were sent to Ms Brose by her family members.
'I was devastated. I just sat and sobbed hysterically,' she said.
She contacted a lawyer to tell the parents to apologise and remove the defamatory comments or face being sued.
Mr and Mrs Baluskas refused to apologise.
Tracey Brose from the Tamborine Mountain State High School (pictured) sued parents for defamation
The couple claim they have lost everything, forking out nearly $1million fighting what they call 'false claims'.
'She's out for revengeance (sic) on anybody that speaks out against her,' Ms Baluskas said.
On Friday, Judge Catherine Muir ruled in favour of Ms Brose and ordered Donna and Miguel Baluskas to pay $3,000 in damages following a four-week trial.
Three parents had already settled out of court for a combined $182,500.
Judge Muir ordered that each party must pay their own legal costs, ABC reported.
'The damages I have awarded are modest and well below what the plaintiff has sought.
'But I consider them sufficient to vindicate the plaintiff in light of the unique contextual features of social media forums.
'I am satisfied that there is a real risk of further publication of the defamatory comments made by the first and second defendants (Donna and Miguel Baluskas), so I have ordered that they be permanently restrained from making them again.'
She said the emotional toll on all those involved has been high.
