Chairman of the Board of Governors of the privately-operated St Cyprian’s Preparatory School in Highgate, St Mary, Dr Fitzalbert Russell, was forced to step down last week after angry parents demanded his exit.

Dr Russell, a former director general of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, who has worked in senior positions in the Ministry of Education for several years until his retirement as regional director a few years ago, was appointed chairman last year.

Earlier last week, tension hit the normally controversy-free institution that has existed for over 50 years when news emerged that Dr Russell had fired security guards hired to serve the property. The situation, parents said in a letter to the Anglican Diocese which manages the school, had put the children at risk and exposed them to imminent danger.

The parents withdrew their children from school on Wednesday, following the removal of the guards late Monday afternoon. The situation forced an emergency meeting of the Board on Wednesday, after which Russell resigned, as the parents remained adamant that he ought to go.

In a letter to Craig Mears, director of Schools & Youth Ministry in the Anglican Church, the parents cited poor stewardship by Dr Russell, and chronicled several concerns which they said needed to be addressed if the school was to progress.

Calling them “troubling” incidents, and specifically referring to the most recent one involving security, the parents stated that Russell’s style of leadership was making conditions at the school worse.

“By far, the most troubling of all decisions is the board chairman’s gross autonomous action to discontinue the security service at the school. Why is it that as parents of this institution if a decision as serious as this is made we are not informed? Should our children be sent to school with no security on the property to ward off intruders who could harm them?

“Minimal communication was made with the principal regarding this matter as she was not a part of the final decision-making process, hence, allowing her to hear by the way that the security services are cancelled.

“The board chairman needs to know that if anything should happen to our children while in the school’s care as a result of his actions, it will become a cause for legal consideration,” the parents wrote.

Efforts by the Jamaica Observer to contact Russell were unsuccessful, while principal, Madrick Gardener would only tell the paper that the issues had been resolved. “We are back to normal,” she said on Thursday.

In respect of some of the other issues, the parents said that the school’s principal was moved out of her office, and the space given to an accountant, whom they said was not necessary in light of the fact that the institution was a small one and already had a bursar.

“During the week of January 11, 2016 many parents witnessed the principal addressing a disciplinary matter with two parents and their children. The location for this highly sensitive meeting was outside the doorway of her classroom. Surrounding the meeting were all the other students who were not a part of the discussions, listening and talking. Not only is this inappropriate but certainly must be an unethical contravention of students’ (involved in the situation) right to privacy. We believe that situations such as these can be avoided if the principal is allowed to immediately move back into her own office space and not be allowed to share this space with anyone,” the parents wrote.

“At the same time, we believe a small school such as this does not need a full-time accountant, especially in light of the fact that we already hire a full-time bursar/secretary. We question the motive for this move, and believe that it aids in the further depletion of the already limited school resources.

“We also have a problem with the fact that we are paying money for extra classes (monies paid up front by parents collected by the school) and the teachers in many instances wait up to a month to collect from the school despite an arrangement of a two-week package for extra class payment. We believe that the money should be collected and kept by those teachers who teach the extra classes. The teachers are already being paid far below their academic qualifications and below that of their counterparts in other primary and preparatory schools across the island hence payment should be made out promptly.

It was also brought to our attention that the accountant is going to classes and embarrassing the children asking for fees. This cannot continue as we are not sure what the money is being used for and the children are belittled and it also has a psychological impact on them,” they stated.

The parents also argue that the school ought to make adequate budgetary arrangements to hold its prize-giving exercise, instead of parents having to raise funds to keep it, although a part of the school fee should go towards that activity.

The parents also said that they believe the students are being disenfranchised by the removal of Spanish and music from the curriculum.

“Subjects such as these assist in preparing students for the secondary school system and provide students with a more holistic educational package. We need Spanish and music to be reinstituted. This school is offering nothing more than a regular primary school curriculum. In fact most primary schools are offering more. We are considering withdrawing our children as it makes no sense to pay for a superior educational package which we are not getting at a preparatory school.

“Similarly, the school’s infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating. Most of the repairs that have been carried out to date have been through the efforts of parents and other good citizens. We are aware that the school collects fees from parents and ought to be financially run in such a way as to be self-sufficient.

“The school also has to beg other institutions to print and photocopy documents for tests, and for use in the office. How long will these institutions put up with this?

“We the parents demand answers backed by evidence to outline how the school fees that we pay are spent on a monthly and yearly basis. Presently, we do not believe it harsh to say the board chairman, with his style, is destroying the school; the teachers are suffering under his disrespectful governance. Ultimately, the students will be negatively impacted.

“We are also prone to believe that many of the decisions taken are not only outside of the chairman’s duties but are more directly being executed in contravention of the Ministry of Education’s and Private Schools Associations’ guidelines.

“We strongly recommend that an investigation be launched into the activities of the present board chairman in the best interest of all stakeholders of this institution,” the parents wrote.

The school has a population of around 180 students. The fee per term is $22,000.