Readers' views: Principal with porn on office computer

About two-thirds of readers who emailed via nzherald.co.nz yesterday thought Bayview School principal Tim Jenkinson should have been sacked for having pornography on his office computer. The rest believed he should stay. Here are some of the responses.

We asked: "Should the principal have kept his job?"

This feedback is now closed. Thanks to all those who submitted their views.

Yes

So long as the material on this person's computer was not illegal material - i.e. child porn.
- John Smale

He should not be stood down, unless you can show me a computer anywhere in the world today that has not had material of this nature on it. It's like saying he should be sacked because he has a copy of Chaucer or a Playboy magazine in his drawer.
- John Hart

No

The principal should be sacked immediately. We need a role model who has character and integrity to staff and pupils. There are enough hypocrites in society and we do not need one in a primary school.
- Tommy Chuk

The principal should be made an example of and summarily dismissed. He should also be deregistered as a teacher in lieu of criminal prosecution. This kind of offending should not be permitted in any form within our school system. What message are we sending to our children when we allow this behaviour within so-called safe environs? Is it then acceptable for adults to abuse/molest children?
- Joseph Birch

I would like to think that while on school grounds, and in the company of numerous minors, all teachers and principals should have their mind on the job. I don't want a child of mine walking into a teacher or principal's office alone in the moments following his viewing of pornography. Kids and porn don't mix. Sack him.
- Alocin