Brindabella Christian College terminates boys' enrolments; family 'powerless'

The decision has left the family upset, confused and feeling "powerless" after asking a number of authorities and regulators to intervene, all to no avail.

Other parents have also spoken to The Canberra Times about their anger and disbelief at the students' removal, but fear the school could take similar action against their children if they are named.

The decision is the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding the school, which was last year rocked by reports of bullying and intimidation. WorkSafe ACT slapped six improvement notices on the school in December for failing to comply with workplace safety laws regarding psychological harm and bullying.

The fresh controversy began on January 17, when lawyer Steven Gavagna, of WMG Legal, wrote to Jodie Jayatilaka on behalf of the private school.

Mr Gavagna's letter told Mrs Jayatilaka her sons Timothy and James would not be allowed to return to the school this year.

The letter concedes that the decision is no reflection on the boys' abilities, and even makes an offer to provide them letters of recommendation or commendation.

Mr Gavagna says in the letter, seen by The Canberra Times, that the school made its decision because it believed the boys' parents were no longer confident in the school and had displayed "outward displeasure" at its administration.

The letter also alleges the parents have "created an unhealthy environment of anger and disunity" by encouraging others to "find issues" with the school, but the Jayatilakas deny this and say there was widespread concern in the school community before they spoke out.

Mrs Jayatilaka and her husband Aldrin were among parents who approached the school board last year. They raised concerns about instability and a high turnover of teachers at the school, and the impact of this on students.

As previously revealed by The Canberra Times, school board chairman Greg Zwajgenberg responded by accusing their daughter, Rachael, who was school captain at the time, of making "inappropriate" comments about school governance.

During her final year assessments, Rachael was hauled in by a senior teacher for questioning about her feelings towards board members.

She was then pulled from speaking at an awards night for mentioning the impact of teacher turnover on students in her opening address, and thanking a former principal for her service.

Now, Rachael's brothers have been swept up in the controversy and forced to find new schools.

Mrs Jayatilaka said her sons had been left confused and upset by the decision, which she described as "beyond extreme" and "disgraceful".

Timothy, who had been elected as a sports house captain for the third year in a row at Brindabella, was to start Year 12 at the college this year. His university entrance marks will be affected by having to move to a new school.

James, who was to go into Year 9 at Brindabella, was a middle school captain last year and has been hit particularly hard by having to leave behind friends.

"They say, 'How can they do this when we've done nothing wrong?'" Mrs Jayatilaka said.

"We [as parents] can't explain it to them because we don't understand it either.

"I'm just devastated for my kids, and powerless and perplexed that it's even possible that we could find ourselves in this situation.

"It's gutting for the boys that they've been caught up in something that's got nothing to do with them.

"[The school] has shown no regard for their welfare in any of this and that's disgraceful."

Mr Jayatilaka described the decision, which came only two weeks before the start of the school year, as unfair, unreasonable and "crossing a moral line".

He said he felt his children had been used to "shut up and shut out" he and his wife when they had tried to address issues at the school by approaching the board.

Mr Jayatilaka stressed that the family had "great relationships" with the staff, and felt it was not until he and his wife approached the school board with concerns last year that the family "became targets".

"I had never imagined that because we raised concerns, this would be the outcome," he said.

"It's so disappointing that a school that says it has children as its main focus would do something like this.

"It's hard to see what course of action we can take now. There seems to be no avenue."

The family has contacted a number of authorities and regulators, to no avail.

These include ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry, who wrote to Mrs Jayatilaka on January 30 saying she had no power to intervene because enrolments at Brindabella Christian College were "a commercial arrangement".

The ACT Human Rights Commission wrote to the school but has received no reply, while others including WorkSafe ACT and the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal found the termination of the brothers' enrolments did not fall within their jurisdiction.

"Where does a child go for defence and help in a situation like this?," Mrs Jayatilaka said.

Mr Zwajgenberg, the school board chairman, refused to discuss the issue with The Canberra Times, saying, "Mate, sadly, no, I'm not talking to you", before hanging up the phone.

Acting principal Suzanne Power also did not respond to a request for comment.

But an email Ms Power sent to staff, which was subsequently leaked to The Canberra Times, reveals a list of six "guidelines" staff were told to follow if asked about the situation with the Jayatilakas.

Ms Power said in the email that "despite statements claiming that the boys had been expelled this is not the case, even though they will need to go to another school".

If questioned about the family, staff were told to "acknowledge the emotional impact of the situation", but say that it was "not appropriate for you to share any information".

The school is, meanwhile, seeing an exodus of students amid the ongoing controversies.

One father, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and his wife had removed children from the school as a result of the treatment the Jayatilakas had received.

"It became a moral standpoint," the man said.

"Honestly, we were in a position where we couldn't justify what was happening [to the Jayatilakas].

"We didn't want to be complicit in it by continuing to give [the school] money."

Another father described the school's actions as "just wrong". He said if his son was not in his final year of schooling at Brindabella, "we'd be looking elsewhere right now".

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A school staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Canberra Times more than 160 students had left the main Brindabella campus at the end of term four last year.

The staff member said the parents of those students would have needed to provide a term's notice to avoid financial penalty, meaning the decision to leave in most cases would have been made before the Jayatilakas spoke publicly about issues at the school, proving there was already widespread unrest.

The school has also experienced a high staff turnover, including in the top job. Christine Lucas' resignation last year made her the fifth principal to leave the role in as many years.

An online petition supporting the Jayatilaka family's efforts to challenge their children's removal from the school, posted on February 1, has already gathered more than 800 signatures.