Principal struck off register for ‘worst kind of misconduct’

A long-serving principal in New Zealand has been removed from the teacher’s register after forging her own performance appraisal.

Jenny Eugenia Brenda Leach had been head of Ferguson Intermediate School in South Auckland for 22 years before admitting that she had provided the false appraisal in November 2014.

Leach signed the appraisal in the name of her husband, Mike Leach, who at the time was the principal of Auckland’s prestigious King's College. Mr Leach resigned in November 2015 after less than a year in the job.

This week, the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal (NZTDT) found that Leach’s behaviour was in direct violation of the standards expected by anyone in the industry.

“The respondent’s actions breached a fundamental obligation to be truthful in appraisals, reflected poorly on her fitness to teach, and brought the reputation of the profession into disrepute,” read a summary of the tribunal’s decision.

The tribunal added that Leach’s behaviour “struck at the heart of the expectation for honesty and integrity that teachers owe the public”.

“We consider this to be a clear-cut example of the worst kind of misconduct for which the maximum penalty of cancellation is reserved,” it stated.

In addition to being struck off the teacher’s register, Leach must also pay 40% of the tribunal’s costs.