Heathfield High's governing body justified in keeping learners at home during pandemic

The School Governing Body (SGB)’s decision to keep learners at home during 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic was ruled as correct and just by a ruling of the Labour Court last week when Heathfield High principal, Wesley Neumann, was vindicated.

On Sunday, the Special Action Committee–Education (SAC-E), together with the GOOD party, hosted a celebratory session at Oude Molen in Pinelands, which was attended by his legal team, radio personalities such as Clarence Ford, and even retired principals who showed their support.

Neumann’s lawyer, Advocate Vernon Seymour, took a moment to detail what took place behind the scenes, revealing claims of corruption and how Neumann had been vindicated. “We then wrote to Brian Schreuder, the then Head of Department, I said perhaps if you have a full-on briefing on what is happening at Heathfield High School, we might be able to resolve the dispute amicably,” he explained.

“After three weeks, I wrote another letter, and there was no response from the first letter. I proposed a round table. The letter went off in the morning and by 2 pm, Wesley was informed that he received a notice to attend a DC hearing the same day.

“I then knew that day, we were in for a very long battle… there was a process of meetings at their offices, and that was kind of a pre-trial hearing, a DC and how they will approach the matter and how we want to approach it.

“There was a teacher at Heathfield High who said a WCED official came to my (teacher's ) house. I know your contract comes to an end in December; we want to extend it. All we want you to do is give evidence against Wesley Neumann. I said this is a clear case of corruption.

"We filed a criminal case; it was a lengthy case, securing more witnesses, and in the end, the NPA decided they were going to prosecute the WCED official for corruption. Unfortunately, he died a week or two before the matter went to court. I am mentioning this to you because of the desperation WCED had in order to dismiss Wesley Neumann from his post.”

Seymour added that it had been the decision of the SGB to take matters into their hands when the school was not safe for learners and staff to enter the grounds during the pandemic. “The case against Wesley was fabricated, an attempt to create a narrative that this school principal was defiant and didn't want to comply with the WCED. 

“What the department tried to say was that Wesley Neumann told the parents they must not bring their children to school and banned them and stopped them and had evidence of a parent. But the truth was, the School Governing Body took a decision and said it was not safe, and at that time the school had ablution facilities and did not have many general workers to clean and a shortage of teachers, taps not working.

“Constantly teachers were staying home due to isolation, teachers had comorbidities; all of the factors were considered by the SGB. The school is not safe; they issued a circular. The department said you (Neumann) shall instruct the SGB that they do not have the power.

“The court held the SGB was in their full rights as a body that is established under the law. There is no way WCED can hold the principal liable for something he could not do; the SGB cannot be instructed by the principal. We were able to present all of these things to the judges, and the court agreed it was justifiable."

Brian Isaacs, the former principal of South Peninsula High School, also showed his support: “I am hopeful that the department will not take any further action against Wesley, and they will leave the matter as is, and that they will change their attitude towards teachers."

Following the decision by the court, Bronagh Hammond, spokesperson for the WCED, said their legal counsel is currently reviewing the judgment, and a decision on whether to lodge an appeal will be taken in due course.

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