Ex-head to take legal case against Govt

Martin Elliott has been described as a "great leader and motivator". Photo / Greg Bowker

Under-fire Hamilton principal Martin Elliott has hit back following his shock resignation by undertaking a personal grievance case against the Ministry of Education for constructive dismissal.

Mr Elliott, who had been principal of Waikato's largest secondary school, Hamilton's Fraser High, since 1997, announced his resignation on Monday after a damning financial audit was leaked to the media.

The 49-page report into the school's finances pointed to a potential misuse of possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars and the alleged use of Ministry of Education funds to pay for work on his homes at Te Kowhai and Papamoa.

But Mr Elliott's lawyer, Mark Hammond, said the report, commissioned by Hamilton's Fraser High's limited statutory manager, John Carlyon, was confidential and its findings were preliminary.

He said Mr Carlyon was obliged to protect its privacy but publication of the report's findings in the Waikato Times made Mr Elliott's position as principal no longer tenable.

"It was in his [Mr Carlyon's] power and control and should have been kept confidential but it obviously hasn't been," said Mr Hammond.

"That's made it extremely difficult for Martin to return to the school, which is why he felt he had no option but to resign."

Despite allegations Mr Elliott misused taxpayer money to pay for staff lunches, buy groceries, give unauthorised staff salary advances, write off an ex-employee's private loan and waive fees for children of school trustees, the embattled principal is maintaining his innocence.

"The answer is no, he hasn't done anything wrong," said Mr Hammond.

"The report was pretty much a preliminary report, which is all the more reason why its sanctity should have been preserved because it was at an early stage of the process when Mr Elliott hadn't answered it."

Mr Carlyon, who took charge at the school in late May, could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

Earlier, he had said the investigation had been difficult but the school could move forward as it sought a permanent replacement for Mr Elliott.

The chairman of Hamilton's Fraser High's trustees, Paul Willard, said he was unable to comment on the matter.

But he has previously described Mr Elliott as "a great personality, a great leader, a great speaker and a great motivator".

No one was at Mr Elliott's Te Kowhai home when the Herald visited yesterday, and several phonecalls went unanswered.

But a text message from Mr Elliott said that although he "would love to", he could not comment on his predicament or the circumstances surrounding his resignation.

Waikato police communications manager Andrew McAlley said fraud squad detectives - who have been reviewing a file on Mr Elliott since May - were still investigating the case.

He said Mr Elliott's resignation came as a "complete surprise" to detectives involved with the inquiry.

"To the best of our knowledge the announcement of the resignation was an employment matter and not something related to our inquiries."