Community to meet over future of high school

1.00pm

Hundreds of Cambridge High School parents and pupils are expected to attend a public meeting tonight to support former principal Alison Annan.

Mrs Annan announced on Friday she would resign after a damning New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) report which said the school had been using untrained teachers to assess students and help them gain National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) credits.

After her announcement Education Minister Trevor Mallard appointed an acting principal and two limited statutory managers to run the school.

However, Mrs Annan said yesterday her resignation to the board had not gone through the proper process because on Friday the school's board was not her employer. Officials say she clearly resigned and there was no confusion over her status.

Following her resignation, students marched to her home in a show of support and sent her flowers and gifts.

Tonight, the community is meeting in Cambridge Town Hall to discuss events and offer support to Mrs Annan.

Mrs Annan earlier said she offered her resignation after Dame Augusta Wallace appointed by the school's board to hold an internal hearing into allegations of staff bullying and results tampering advised her to quit.

Dame Augusta later said she regretted offering that advice.

"She ... asked me if I thought she should resign. I allowed my prudence to be set aside for my concern for the woman, she looked very distressed, and I said yes I think you should, but it need not be a resignation, it could be a suspension or a stand down," she said.

Mrs Annan later appeared to back track on her decision and said she had not written a resignation letter or discussed a resignation date and was at a loss to know exactly what the situation was.

But statutory manager Dennis Finn tonight told NZPA the school's board was still Mrs Annan's employer on Friday and the statutory managers appointed to the school did not formally take control until midnight on Friday.

"The resignation was made, she announced it to the staff, and then an announcement was made to the students at a special assembly."

Mr Finn said the board had accepted her resignation and today he had written to Mrs Annan's solicitor confirming those details.

The school board's chairwoman, Diana Grantham, has also resigned.

Mrs Grantham said her work commitments meant she could not put the time into the board as chairwoman, but she would remain as a trustee.

Graeme Dick, a partner in accountancy firm Beattie Rickman, has taken over as chairman.

- NZPA