'Enough is enough': Locals rally behind school principal embroiled in epic parent-teacher row that sparked a terrifying ambush on her home and cost her $400k to clear her name
- Tracey Brose, principal from Queensland school sued parents for defamation
- Parents falsely labelled her as 'lying bully' on Facebook and Change.org pages
- The bitter four-year legal battle left Ms Brose down more than $400,000
- Locals have launched a GoFundMe for Ms Brose to help cover her legal costs
- Miguel Baluskas stormed her home, smashing a window during ongoing battle
Locals have rallied behind a school principal who was embroiled in a parent-teacher row that sparked an ambush on her home and cost her more than $400,000 in legal fees.
Tracey Brose, the principal at Tamborine Mountain State High School on the Gold Coast, took legal action against a group of parents over derogatory remarks they made about her in 2016.
The extraordinary four-year row began with a social media stoush that escalated when a parent smashed up her home, with Ms Brose's husband forced to pull a knife on the attacker.
The feud finally ended on Friday with Ms Brose awarded $6,000 in damages from parents Donna and Miguel Baluskas.
Ms Brose was handed nearly $200,000 in out-of-court settlements with a number of other parents, but she was left more than $400,000 down following the legal battle.
The Tambourine Mountain community launched a GoFundMe page to help Ms Brose pay off her legal debt after she 'put her entire livelihood on the line' to stand up for Australia's teachers.
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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
'Needless to say, the emotional, physical and financial toll this has placed on Tracey, her husband and children, is unfathomable. This includes an attack on her home when one of the parents involved broke her front door down and terrified her family,' the page reads.
'Tracey has always stated that this was never about the money and only wanted to stand up for what is right and give teachers and other professionals a path forward should they find they are in the same situation.'
The four-year stoush began when parents started a petition to encourage the education minister to reinstate Ms Brose following her temporary suspension in 2014.
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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.
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.
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.
Donna and Miguel Baluskas refused to give in and spent four years trying to prove they were the victims
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.
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.
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
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.
