Email

Print

We also asked Minister Faber about the situation at Gwen Liz High School.  That's the only high school in his Collet constituency and it’s been going through upheaval recently.  The Principal Dr. Lorna McKay was placed on suspension earlier this month - and she did not leave quietly.  Instead she said that Chairman, Roosevelt Blades - who is Faber’s political officer in Collett - has been bullying and intimidating her for years.  Today, Faber said that the Ministry had to go in to do an investigation based on complaints:

Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"We have longed heard complaints about the management of Gwen Liz high school and so what we did as the ministry we sent in an investigation team, that team was made up of very veteran secondary educators and they went in and they wrote a report giving their findings, they interviewed all who was concerned, parents, the teachers, the administration, the board of government, governance as well and that report prompted us to believe that all is not well at Gwen Liz and in fact they were much to be desired in terms of the leadership at Gwen Liz. So as much as Minister of Education I may feel something is not right there given the report by my team that I sent in there I am not able to act. The ministry does not, cannot get in there and just smooth things over and say you know what, you are not working, that is not working and that due process is very important to us. So what I think was unfair is that from the interviews that I have seen is that Dr. McKay accused the chairman who I declare is my political aid and it was unfortunate that Dr. McKay made it a kind of personal issue saying that it was the chairman who unilaterally was acting because I can assure you that was not the case. In fact they have had a number of board meetings, I have seen the documentation where Dr. McKay has been asked for certain things to show how she has been functioning in certain areas and in fact that was never produced and so the board in its wisdom not Mr. Blade alone, the board decided that it was going to put Dr. McKay on administrative leave in the interim while the investigation is being conducted and a group, I don't know if it is called a tribunal but an investigative group outside of the board of the school would then listen to the case, Dr. McKay would have an opportunity to present her case to answer to whatever charges the board has put against her, that is the way it works. And if at the end of the process Dr. McKay is vindicated, Dr. McKay is able to prove that listen all of things that you Mr. Chairman and the board have said that I have done or have not done then she will be reinstated."

Dr. Mckay is on suspension until the end of the month - which is when he investigation is supposed to be finished.