'It’s not a normal independent Christian school': Former Brindabella Christian College parent speaks out

Brindabella Christian College is really two schools – the one where students, teachers and parents work together to create a supportive learning environment and the other where there is a culture of fear and intimidation driven by a siege mentality, according to a former parent.

The private Lyneham-based school is facing a windup application by the Tax Office over an $8 million debt. It needs to respond to a show cause notice from Education Minister Yvette Berry over governance and financial issues by Thursday week.

The former parent, whom we’ll call John, spoke to Region on the condition of anonymity.

John pulled his children from the school last year after rapid staff turnover disrupted their learning amid concern about BCC’s deteriorating financial position.

But it was a wrench and the children did not want to leave.

“It was a very difficult decision and our kids are still pretty upset about it, but we’re trying to help them move on,” John said.

“We just had no confidence in what the future of the school is going to look like.

“I assumed at some stage exactly what’s happened now was going to happen because there were just so many warning signs.

“If you’re an entity that can’t pay super, that’s a pretty good sign that you’re close to … trading insolvently.”

For John and other families, staying where their children were happy and achieving good results trumped the disruption of finding a new school with similar faith-based values, even when there were obvious signs that Brindabella was not like other independent schools in Canberra.

One of those was the upheaval of 2019 when the board dissolved the Parents and Friends Association after concerns at the number of teachers leaving and an abortive move by the board to impose extended school hours without any consultation.

John said about 100 people had attended the last P&F meeting, and for many, it was the first time they heard about what was going on in the school.

He said the P&F was trying to advocate for frustrated parents and it was shut down as a result. Then-principal Christine Lucas had been in the room along with some board members.

To this day, the school does not have a P&F, apart from a Facebook page run by staff. Parents and children set up a private Facebook group but were forced to shut it down.

A code of conduct on the school’s website prevents parents from collectively discussing the school.

John said the decision to dissolve the P&F isolated parents from each other and prevented any collective raising of concerns without fear of repercussion, with the litigious board frequently issuing cease and desist notices.

“The executive committee of the P&F were threatened … with exclusion from the school.”

Ms Lucas resigned soon after saying she could not continue to lead the College with the “current level of operational interference”. Region reported that two dozen school staff, including a number of people in senior executive positions, had left the school.

John said he had been constructively vocal about concerns but had sensed there were “eyes on him”.

“The kids were briefed that if anyone ever put pressure on them, I would be at the school within minutes to help them and ensure that they were protected,” he said.

“By raising raising concerns, it puts your kids’ schooling at risk.”

John said it was not a normal or healthy relationship between parents and the school.

“I don’t think there are many other schools in Australia that treat their parents like this,” he said.

“It’s not a normal independent Christian school. It’s so far out of the norm for independent Christian schools both in Canberra and more broadly.”

But John still believes the school is worth saving and hopes that out of the present troubles a solution can be found.

“As long as it can be managed into a transitional arrangement and then into a longer-term viable solution,” he said.