School Fires Deputy Principal For Cutting Student’s Unruly Hair On Photo Day

The deputy principal of Trinity Grammar School in New South Wales was fired after he trimmed a student’s hair on the institution’s photo day.

School council chairman Roderick Lyle penned a letter to the parents of the children who attend Trinity, informing them of deputy principal Rohan Brown’s untimely departure.

In the letter he said Brown was fired because he failed to handle a disciplinary situation properly. The letter further added Brown’s actions were at odds with school policy and “inconsistent with community expectations in this day and age.”

“As a result, the school council was of the view that Mr Brown’s leadership position at the school was no longer tenable,” Lyle said in the letter. "We are all very disappointed and deeply saddened by the situation."

Brown had worked at the school for 30 years.

Students were shocked to hear about Brown’s departure and refused to believe the mishandling of a disciplinary action was the sole reason for his firing.

They believe Brown, who was the only person opposing headmaster Michael Davies' vision for the school’s future, was targeted in the ongoing school politics.

“Rohan represented the old school's values, caring for the community and the moulding of young gentleman,” a student of the school told the Age on the condition of anonymity. “This was a school who produced well-rounded men who had an interest in the wider community not just their pay packets and status. The school is being destroyed.”

The atmosphere of the school has been politically charged ever since Old Trinity Grammarians' Association president David Baumgartner – who has served in the school’s association for 34 years – sent a scathing letter to the council chair and headmaster, accusing them of becoming preoccupied with aspects of the institution which should not be the primary focus.

"There is too much inward focus on things like buildings, fundraising, marketing, ATAR excellence, Cambridge schooling program, etc," he wrote. The shift of focus had bred "resurgent undercurrent of frustration and anger" among the school community, he added.

Many former teachers also said an extraordinary number of perfectly good teachers were fired from the school after Davis took over from former headmaster Rick Tudor in 2014.

Most of the teachers, who received handsome severance packages during their departure, were made to sign non-disclosure agreements, which prevented them from discussing the amounts they were paid at the time of sacking.

One of the former teachers told the Age an estimated 152 teachers were fired from the school in the past four years.

Brown said he was saddened by what had happened.

"I would like to go back," he said. "It’s a good school and this is tearing me apart. I can't comment further."

Brown was well-liked among parents and former students who vouched for the recently-sacked deputy principal in the comments section of original report by the Age.

“He was unrelenting in his efforts to reign in bad behavior which caused me no end of irritation, but in hindsight, he did exactly what needed to be done to help sculpt decent young men,” said one commenter who claimed to be a former student at the school.

A parent, whose child attends the school, said: “As a current parent of the school Mr Brown has always given the highest consideration to the boys and their welfare. He is the arbiter of discipline and care in equal amounts.”

Similarly, another parent also left a comment saying Brown cut the hair of his son in the past and he did not have an issue with it.

However, the identities of the commenters could not be verified.