Board drama at Brindabella Christian College as two members leave, and a third is ineligible

Brindabella Christian College has lost two of its board members and a third is ineligible to be in a governance position as the troubled private school faces a decision on its future from the incoming ACT Education Minister.

Last month, ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry delivered an ultimatum to the Lyneham-based K-12 school to get its house in order over its governance and financial issues or face serious consequences.

On 3 September, Ms Berry wrote to the private school, which also has a smaller campus in Charnwood, giving it six weeks from then to provide a plan for and evidence of it meeting a raft of conditions to comply with its regulatory obligations.

According to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, Flora Tan and Allan Davis are no longer on the board of Brindabella Christian Education Limited, leaving it with only four members and in breach of conditions agreed to with the Federal Minister for Education in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in April 2023.

The conditions required that the board include at least two women representatives, a parent representative and that the board have at least five members, as well as having education and financial experience and expertise.

New executive principal Suzanne Power remains a board member, but under the new Education Act, she cannot hold both positions.

The non-government school registration standards’ governance requirements state: “The proprietor must ensure that the governance responsibilities of the governing body of the school are separate from the day-to-day control and management responsibilities of the principal of the school.”

That would reduce the board to just three members – chair Greg Zwajgenberg, Alyn Doig and John Clarke.*

Ms Power was appointed to replace executive principal Keturah Jones, who resigned suddenly in August without giving a reason.

However, she had already been appointed to the board in April 2023 to meet a condition that the board include at least two women.

Flora Tan is a parent at the school with a child in Year 12, and her husband is a teacher there.

She was also appointed to meet the AAT conditions requiring a parent representative.

Alan Davis is a teaching pastor at Capital Edge Bible Church, the same church network to which Mr Zwajgenberg and Mr Doig belong.

Mr Davis was appointed in 2020 after the resignation of two other directors.

The school is also losing its Head of Campus at Charnwood, Jane Crawford, at the end of the year. She is taking up a position at Covenant Christian School in Gordon.

The school’s reform group said the situation needed to be stabilised as quickly as possible.

ReformBCC was concerned that without intervention from the minister, BCC could lose good staff and teachers, compromising education services at the school.

“This is purely a governance issue,” ReformBCC said.

“If that’s not resolved, we can understand that teachers and staff will be looking to secure their employment and looking for stability, but that would be detrimental to the community.”

Mr Zwajgenberg said speculation that the board resignations were prompted by the ACT Government’s current action was unfounded.

He said Mr Davis resigned in June of this year, and Mrs Flora Tan resigned in September due to serious health issues and the need to recover from an operation.

Replacements for a female and parent representatives would be announced to the College community shortly, as would two new College Principals, both reporting to Ms Power.

Mr Zwajgenberg did not respond to questions about Ms Power’s ineligibility to sit on the board.

On the AAT conditions, Mr Zwajgenberg said Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare had been provided with all required information over the past one and a half years, including a recent audit of some 40 minor items that would now conclude the AAT arrangements.

“We have been in ongoing communication with Minister Clare, and as stated in recent correspondence from Minister Clare in a communication with Shadow Education Minister Ms Sarah Henderson, ‘The department is in regular communication with the school and has an open invitation to meet with them as required’,” he said.

“In relation to the ACT Registrar for Education, as per Minister Berry’s previously stated “we are working closely together”, all of our ACT Education Act regulatory compliance dovetails into our ongoing commitments to the Commonwealth.”

The Education Directorate told Region last week that the Registrar of Non-Government Schools had written to each board member explaining the expectations of the conditions imposed and reminding each board member of their personal fiduciary responsibilities.

The Registration Standards Advisory Board would advise the minister, the registrar or both on potential next steps if required.

“These matters will be managed in line with the requirements of the Education Act 2004 and the caretaker conventions,” a spokesperson said.

“The Registrar has, and will continue to, confer with the Australian Government’s Education Department about this matter in line with the statutory process for review and assessment outlined in the Education Act 2004.”

*An earlier version named Tammy Brown as a board member. The ACNC site lists her as a responsible person but only as Secretary, not as a board member or director.