WHY?
Recent events at Somerville House, Clayfield College and Brisbane Boys' College have revealed a governance structure which is not fit for purpose today and which is not delivering the standards of oversight of our children's education that parents, teachers and the wider school community are entitled to expect. Please take the time to read the material on this website and consider the views of the parent community expressed through our facebook page.
The answer begins a long time before Beyond PMSA was formed. See here just one of many thoughtful, well-researched cases for governance reform ignored by the PMSA in the past. This one is by a former BBC school captain and dux with a distinguished investment banking career who knows what good governance looks like.
The many thousands of BeyondPMSA members and their representatives are reasonable people who fundamentally believe that, because the current scandals have been caused by the direct actions of the current PMSA Council and their arrogant refusal to engage with stakeholders until media attention forced them to do so, it is clearly not appropriate that they should be engaged with as part of any discussions for a solution to these issues and the important structural problems underpinning multigenerational governance failures.
People are no longer seeking explanations, they are seeking action.
No action has been offered by the PMSA and even if it were, their decisions and involvement in the current crisis has tainted the position of all current PMSA Council members in the debate. All current PMSA Council members must therefore resign.
BeyondPMsA and it’s members remain willing to engage with the Moderators of the Uniting and Presbyterian Churches to swiftly intercede to enable proper dialogue and discussions for true governance reform to occur outside of the current PMSA structure. The PMSA Chairman’s recent comments in the media and the many unsolicited attempts by the PMSA at communications with parents via their crisis communications consultants are too little too late. The PMSA media seems more about prioritising steps to preserve the relevance of the present PMSA Council than addressing the impact on the reputations of the schools, and the continuing disruption and the distress caused to students and staff.
The solution can never be to allow the PMSA to reform itself. That is not an acceptable solution on any level.
BeyondPMSA will continue with its unrelenting campaign.
Stay tuned.