A CO MEATH national school principal has lost his legal challenge aimed at stopping disciplinary proceedings against him over allegedly having a prefab removed from the school for use by him as a private preschool.
He was also accused of temporarily transferring children to another school so it would not lose a teacher.
John Hand, Proudstown, Navan, the principal of St Oliver Plunkett’s National School, Navan, brought the action against the sole school manager, Fr Brendan Ludlow, arguing he would not get a fair hearing on grounds that Fr Ludlow was biased against him.
Fr Ludlow was appointed school manager in place of a board of management in December 2007 and was conducting an inquiry into allegations against Mr Hand.
Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe ruled yesterday that Mr Hand had not established any reasonable fear of bias or injustice in relation to the proposed disciplinary hearing.
Mr Hand, who denies any wrongdoing, has been principal at the 600-pupil Catholic co-educational school since 1997. The school is under the patronage of Bishop Michael Smith.
It was claimed there had been hostility between Mr Hand and Bishop Smith and also between Mr Hand and the previous chairman of the board of management, Fr Dwane Gavin. Fr Ludlow shared a house with Fr Gavin and worked for the bishop, the court was told.
Mr Justice O’Keeffe rejected Mr Hand’s claims Fr Ludlow had been “infected” by hostility and antagonism towards him from Fr Gavin and Bishop Smith.
No reasonable apprehension of bias against Mr Hand had been made out that would disqualify Fr Ludlow from carrying out the disciplinary process, he found.
The allegations against him include that he had a prefab removed from the school to the rear of his home and had another prefab fitted out with material from the school and used it for a pre-school run by him as a private enterprise; kept false enrolment records; and sent false information to the Department of Education.
The court heard a department inspector concluded in October 2007 that enrolment figures were manipulated by Mr Hand and the principal of Kilmainham Wood national school, his wife Máire Hand, when in September 2007 four pupils were temporarily transferred to ensure Kilmainham Wood kept a teacher.
Mr Hand denies the claims about the prefabs. On the enrolment figures, he said he had told the previous board of management he permitted the transfer of children, including two of his children, to help the other school have enough pupils to keep a teacher.
The parents of the two other children had consented to the transfer, he had apologised to the board but he believed he had broken no rule.