Annan to step down in December

Controversial Cambridge High School principal Alison Annan will step down in December after a confidential mediation agreement was hammered out in Auckland.

Mrs Annan took her case to the Employment Relations Authority in Auckland after claiming she was sacked from the school and did not resign.

The authority ordered that she be put back on the payroll but she was not allowed to return to the school without the approval of school commissioner Dennis Finn, who was appointed by Education Minister Trevor Mallard after he sacked the board.

Mrs Annan refused to discuss the mediation talks today but her lawyer Nikki Rice said an amicable resolution of her personal grievance claim had been reached.

"She will resign with effect from December 3 on agreed terms. The terms are confidential," Ms Rice told NZPA.

She refused to discuss the mediation talks.

"There was definitely a spirit of goodwill there," she said.

"Alison has always had a spirit of goodwill."

Ms Rice refused also to discuss Mrs Annan's superannuation which was understood to be a key factor in her decision to seek a solution through the Employment Relations Authority.

After the hearing in Auckland earlier this month, her other solicitor, Kit Toogood, QC said she stood to lose a substantial amount of money.

Today Ms Rice refused to discuss details.

"The terms are confidential and neither Mr Finn or Mrs Annan will be making any further comment on the settlement or the circumstances of it," she said.

- NZPA