As the St. Paul's school community continues to fight for transparency with the Anglican Schools Commission (ASC) over the dissolution of their school council and removal of Dr Browning, the ASC Board Member Suzanne Bain, who was handed the role of Executive Principal at the school offered to meet with parents today.

The St. Paul's school community formulated specific questions for Suzanne Bain, seeking understanding, transparency, and answers regarding decisions made.  Here is an update from the 9 a.m. meeting.

*Please note: This meeting was recorded by Suzanne Bain, and parents sought permission to record it as well.

Suzanne's opening address to the parents was to infer that through our actions of peaceful protests, we are causing psychological harm to our own children.  The peaceful protests outside the church organised to not impact any church services have caused harm to the ASC staff, whereby they do not feel safe to attend work and work from home.

A note about the ASC staff and protests.  The school community has run only two standing protests outside the cathedral.  The first occasion, Monday, 18 September, was advertised as a peaceful protest, and video footage can confirm parents and students stood on the outside steps of the church with banners and red shirts.  The second protest was held on a Sunday afternoon, in the afternoon so that church services were not impacted.  So, by my account, only one peaceful protest could have potentially impacted "working" ASC staff.  

Q.  It is understood that the proposal of commercializing Realms of Thinking was sought to fund reparations for historical sex abuses at St. Paul's during the 80s/90s.  If Realms of Thinking is not commercialised, how can the school fund these payments?  Will School Fees be increased to cover this cost?  If so, why are parents of current students liable financially for historical abuse at the school that the Royal Commission found the Anglican Church liable for these repayments?

A: No additional charges to parents are being announced, and the school won't be expected to pay those reparations.

When it was outlined that Bishop Jeremy Greaves had gone on record to state that the school was made liable for all compensation in 2020, backdated to 2019, Suzanne recanted her story and said, "Not at liberty to discuss details."

Q. St. Paul's has the highest waitlist of students for the year 2024/2025 in its history.  For the certainty of current and prospective new parents, which will 2024 fees be confirmed, outlining reasons for any increases if they occur?

A: Discussion of fees is irrelevant at this time.

Q. Given the additional roles created at St. Paul's, Executive Principal and Education Consultant, who will be responsible for paying those roles?  Given these roles were created by the ASC and an ASC Board member occupies the Executive Principal role and the Acting Principal role, shouldn't the ASC fund the additional cost placed on the school?

A: Information about the administrative structure of ASC subcommittees was provided with a follow-up "Not at liberty to discuss details."

Q. How long will the Executive Principal and Education Consultant remain at St. Paul's?

A: Did not answer

Q. During Term 4, parents may assess whether St. Paul's is the right fit for their child, given the changes the ASC has placed on the school's leadership.  Will you waive the requirement for a term's notice to withdraw a student from the school?

A: Confirmed notice will be waived short term.  Unable to confirm nor commit to how long the waiver may remain.

Q.  Will you guarantee that 2024 student appointments into leadership roles will not be re-evaluated?

A: Confirmed 2024 student appointments will not be re-evaluated

Q. Will Dr. Browning be permitted to return to shake the hands of the graduating class, given that he has been their headmaster for their entire school life?

A: Taken on notice

Q. Bishop Jeremy Greaves is on record stating "fundamental differences" over the school's vision, purpose, policies and procedures as the major factor in not renewing Dr. Browning's contract.  What were those fundamental differences?  

A: Not able to discuss at this time

Q. Bishop Jeremy Greaves is on record stating that Realms of Thinking was not a factor in Dr. Browning's non-renewal in March.  Sherrill Butterworth, Tim Reid, and other ASC members have gone on record via emails sent to parents that conflict over the commercialisation of Realms of Thinking and subsequent risk to Anglican Government school funding was the major factor.  Please clarify this inconsistency.

A: Not Answered.

Q. Why did the ASC require Dr. Browning to leave on such short notice?  According to the ASC, what was so terrible about how he was running the school that he needed to be removed without a proper leadership handover process?

A: Not at liberty to answer

Q. Bishop Jeremy Greaves is on record stating that the School Council was dissolved as they were not "functioning harmoniously." To what extent will people representing parents, independent of the ASC, be represented in the new council?

A: Not Answered.

*It is important to note that at this question, Suzanne did say what Bishop Jeremy Greaves said is correct.  However, Allan Hird, one of the school council members who was dissolved, attended this meeting and stood up to confirm that this was incorrect.  All school council members, including the Chair, were in agreement with Dr. Browning's renewal and that all school council members regularly meet for dinners on Friday nights.  That sounds like a harmoniously working school council to me.

A statement made by Suzanne Bain during the meeting stated, "The ASC has a long-term unwritten policy that Anglican Principal tenures are limited to 15 years at one school."  When pressed on how this information has been conveyed, whether it is written into employment contracts, etc., Suzanne stated no, it's not written anywhere.

This statement does raise a set of interesting questions, though:

Was Dr. Browning made aware of this policy?

Why wasn't this reason mentioned before now?

If this "unwritten" policy existed, why was an independent review done on Dr. Browning's performance seeking renewal for 5 years?

If this policy existed, why was there no succession planning already established before now?  How can this constitute good governance?

If 15 years is the maximum, why is Principal Mark Sly at Coomera Anglican College only now just resigning after 27 years in the role, and Rev Chris Ivey, currently principal of St Andrew's for over 16 years?  How do you account for these anomalies?

I would just like to leave the ASC with this definition of transparency:

Transparency is the quality or state of being open, honest, and clear in communication, actions, and decision-making. It involves providing accurate and easily accessible information to individuals or the public, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of processes, intentions, and outcomes. In a transparent environment, there is little to no hidden agenda or deliberate concealment of facts, promoting accountability and fostering stakeholder trust.