Earlier this month, we did a number of stories cataloguing the difficulties at Sadie Vernon High as disputes rage between administrators, teachers, parents and students.
In the middle of all those groups like a bewildered referee is the Ministry of Education. Seems to us they've been taking a kind of hands-off approach on this one though, and today Education Minister Patrick Faber told us that they are circumspect because the government learned a hard lesson when it tried intervening in the 2008 brouhaha at Escuela Mexico.
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"There is a procedure for everything and the ministry is not quick to by-pass the procedure. Anybody who is involved in our education system at the secondary level Jim will tell you that the board of that school is really the managing authority and they should be given the first chance to fix problems. As I have said to you this is not the first time that situations like that one have risen from Sadie Vernon High School and indeed there was some intervention by the government over the last year I'd say but it is after having given the board a chance. And in fact it has gone back to that to allowing the board to function to deal with the issues with the staff, to deal with the issues with the students and the ministry would only intervene when it really gets past the stage that we believe the board is not handling the situation very well."
Jim McFadzean
"Will you intervene if it got to the point where there is no resolution to the current impasse?"
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"I believe that people look to us to do that and we are not afraid of doing that but also a recent ruling by the courts having to do with the Escuela Mexico situation where the government did intervene in a similar type matter - people remember that happened I think in the early part of 2008 - showed that they could find fault with the intervention on the part of the ministry so we are also very careful now to make sure that we follow the proper procedure. It's not that some issue happens and the ministry rushes in and takes over and dictates what's to happen next. Due process has to occur."
Jim McFadzean
"In the case of Sadie Vernon, you did say that this has been an ongoing problem."
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"It has been an ongoing problem, in fact the ministry has sent in a team to do a report, the report has been given, what was done as a result of that was we handed that back to the board to say listen this is what our investigative team found to be the problems, the issues and we'd like you to deal with it."
