Perth Modern probe ongoing

Recognition as Western Australia’s top-performing public school has not helped Perth Modern School avoid scrutiny over administrative issues in recent years.

Most recently, confirmation of the dismissal of principal Lois Joll returned these issues to the public sphere amid ongoing official reviews.

Established in 1911, Perth Modern is the state’s oldest public high school.

It is WA’s only fully academically selective public school, with its students consistently ranking among the highest in the WA Certificate of Education results.

In 2020, Perth Modern School students achieved the highest median Australian Tertiary Admission Rank recorded in WA at 97.55, compared to the state average of 81.6.

The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre no longer releases median ATAR results for schools, but Perth Modern’s reputation for the academic performance of its students remains.

However, the Subiaco school has equally been in the spotlight for the controversy over a proposed 700-seat auditorium.

A campaign, named Raise the Roof, was launched in 2016 to raise funds for the $10 million auditorium project.

In late 2017, news outlets reported that some school board members claimed they were not consulted over the auditorium plans.

It has also been reported that 10 board members called for the resignation of Ms Joll, citing issues with the governance practices at the school, particularly concerning the money to be spent on the auditorium.

Department of Education director general at the time, Sharyn O’Neill, launched an independent review into the auditorium campaign and decision, and concluded Ms Joll should remain as principal.

Several board members have left since that decision.

Meanwhile, WorkSafe launched an investigation into the school’s “management of psychosocial hazard” in September 2021.

The workplace safety watchdog confirmed the investigation was closed by mid-December 2021.

Ms Joll was stood down in November 2021 after Department of Education director general Lisa Rodgers requested a review into the school’s workplace culture, weeks out from the end of the 2021 school year.

A WorkSafe spokesperson said 15 improvement notices were written up during the investigation, but all related to general hazards.

Ms Rodgers named Shenton College principal Mike Morgan as interim principal of Perth Modern School on a short-term basis (about four weeks).

Principals Federation of WA president Bevan Ripp confirmed Ms Joll had been dismissed in April 2023, having been notified a day before Good Friday.

Mr Ripp told Business News the next step was a mediation meeting with the department, but it had been difficult to arrange a date.

Perth Modern deputy principal Val Furphy was also given a notice of intention of dismissal, Mr Ripp said.

While the Department of Education has not divulged details on the review, Mr Ripp said the auditorium incident remained the focus of the probe.

“What the two women was alleged to have done wrong would not, in my eyes, warrant a dismissal,” he said.

Mr Ripp also confirmed Ms Joll had lodged an unfair dismissal claim with the WA Industrial Relations Commission.

Business News has contacted the department on the status of its review into the school, but Professional Standards and Conduct executive director Mary Brown said it was not appropriate to comment given the matter was before the WAIRC.

The department released a succinct statement to media when news of Ms Joll’s dismissal broke.

“The principal position at Perth Modern School is vacant. A recruitment process is under way to fill the vacancy,” a department spokesperson said.

A job advertisement for a principal at Perth Modern has been posted on the state government’s jobs portal, advertising for a permanent full-time principal position starting in term three this year (July 19 at Perth Modern).

Former John Curtin College of the Arts principal Mitchell Mackay was announced as the school’s interim principal in December 2021. He took up the role at the start of the 2022 school year.