Over one hundred kilometres away was the small town of Taukauri. Nobody at Te Arawa would have guessed the events taking place there would affect Te Arawa College. A simple decision was about to start a chain reaction that would have lasting consequences on the lives of many people in Te Arawa.
Doug Andrews had just been assigned as acting principal of Taukauri College, due to the sudden departure of the previous one. He had been brought in at the last moment as a fill-in, but if all went well, he would be assigned the role permanently. It would be his first role as a principal and he really looked forward to making a difference. He had great ideas on how the school should be run; what systems should be put in place and how discipline should be carried out.
He checked himself in the mirror next to his desk, smoothing his hair. He straightened his tie and dusted some lint from his grey suit. All was in order.
Discipline.
That was something he was passionate about. As long as he was principal, he would run a tight ship. Every school needed formality and structure. He believed it was crucial to gaining control over the modern student. Rules had to be obeyed and authority had to be respected. There was no room for flippancy and he had to create an impression right from the word go. He had to make those students see that there would be no flaunting of the rules while on his watch.
A bulky green manila folder, that polluted his otherwise tidy desktop, dragged him from his musings. He creased his brow as he eyed it. He'd forgotten about this little matter. Trouble was not welcome at Taukauri College, especially the first day of term.
The file belonged to a year eleven student by the name of Rex Cassidy. It seemed to Mr Andrews as if this youth had broken almost every school rule there was to break. His file took up a whole drawer in the filing cabinet. The previous principal was the old fashioned type who preferred paper work rather than sitting at a computer, although Mr Andrews figured that a student record the size of Rex Cassidy’s would take up more hard drive space than what was available. It dumbfounded him that one student could get away with so much.
In Mr Andrews’ opinion, the old principal, Matt Morgan must have been the most incompetent principal in the history of schooling. Why on Earth, this boy Rex had never been expelled was beyond him. He hadn’t even been suspended once.
If only corporal punishment could be reinstated, he’d soon put this boy in his place. Goodness knows why they had ever abolished it, students these days could practically do whatever they liked. There was no way of enforcing any discipline, bar expulsion or suspension, but even these days there was more and more pressure on schools to avoid that method as well.
Andrews reached over and pressed the intercom button on his phone.
‘Yes, Mr Andrews?’ came the voice of his PA, Miss Jenkins.
‘Could you come into my office please?’
‘Certainly, Mr Andrews.’
Andrews shuffled papers of the file around. He couldn’t understand it; there had been nothing but good reports about this school. It had high academic and sporting standards, as well as a high standard of student behaviour. Goodness knows how students like Rex Cassidy could run rampant. There was limited bullying... or so he had been told. He had been led to believe that Morgan had been doing a good job as principal there.
He had definitely done some good work though - Andrews had to admit that. The school finances were looking very healthy indeed. It seemed to do very well in the area of fund raising. He hadn’t had a chance to study the books thoroughly yet, but there was a large amount of money coming from somewhere. The school had all the latest equipment, including modern furniture and the teachers there were on higher salaries than anywhere else.
Miss Jenkins opened the door. ‘Mr. Andrews?’ she asked, smoothing her skirt.
‘Ah, Miss Jenkins, please take a seat.’
She sat in the seat opposite his desk.
‘I’d like to talk to you about this student, Rex Cassidy.’
Her eyes lit up at the mention of his name. ‘Yes sir.’
‘I take it you know all about this student?’
‘Yes, Mr Andrews. I know him very well. I am very familiar with the incidents that have occurred in the past with him. In fact, I’ve spoken with him on many occasions. Some of the things he does are actually quite funny. I mean, just the barefaced cheek of it like...’
‘Barefaced cheek? I’m seeing more than just that in his file. Look at this! Fighting, inappropriate behaviour with members of the opposite sex, disrupting class, disrespect to teachers, not turning up to detentions, not turning up to classes and even holding a party in Maths class! And all through this file I’m seeing things about him and some girl… Vanessa Dante… Seemed to be a right pair… partners in crime. Funny thing is I don’t see her name on the school roll at all.’
‘That’s his girlfriend. Or it was. Oh she was so lovely. So incredibly beautiful. Her smile would light up an entire room and whenever she was around people just couldn’t help but smile. Oh, Mr Andrews it’s…’
‘Regardless of that, I think I’m glad she is no longer here. The trouble those two got into together and the way they worked together to get away with their shenanigans. I can’t believe it was tolerated like it was. You do realise that they continually tormented a teacher, ridiculing him and making him look stupid and causing him to quit?’
‘Mr Browning, yes. He did have a certain reputation though. He had been accused of some inappropriate behaviour with students, but none of it was ever proven, so he remained on here. Many people were very angry about that. In fact when he quit, a lot of staff members and parents were very happy.’
‘That’s beside the point! They bullied a teacher!’
‘I’m sorry, Mr Andrews, but I am one of those people that were pleased when he quit. I have no sympathy for that man. What he got he deserved. Rex and Vanessa may have been a handful, but they made a great pair. It’s just a pity about what happened.’
‘Well we needn’t go into that. It no longer matters.’
‘You are right. It’s all past history now. Needless to say Rex more than makes up for the fact Vanessa’s no longer here by enjoying the company of many of the other young ladies.’
‘I know! And that’s what bothers me the most. The stuff I’m reading in his file here is simply unbelievable. All sorts of shenanigans, which I would expect from some American teen movie, but not going on inside a New Zealand high school. Now tell me, Miss Jenkins, why the hell hasn't this boy been expelled?’
Miss Jenkins eyebrows lifted. ‘Expel Rex? I... Well, Sir, his parents donate a huge amount of money to this school. Without their money, this school would not be able to function as effectively as it does.’
‘What do you mean? I know that most schools struggle, but very few have any trouble getting the majority of their students to a decent level of education.’
‘Well, sure, but they do pay the school an awful lot of money. If Rex Cassidy were to be expelled, it would be a real shock to the school budget.’
‘So his parents pay the school a bribe so that we won’t expel him?’
‘Well, yes, I guess you could call it that.’ She smiled as if amused by Mr Andrews’ statement.
‘Miss Jenkins, it’s obvious to me that this so-called grant or donation is just a bribe to prevent us from expelling this student, is it not? I wonder whether his parents would pay us any money at all if Rex wasn’t such a problem student.’
‘Maybe not, Mr Andrews.’
‘So, we put up with all his nonsense just because of a little extra money, do we?’
‘Thirty thousand dollars a year, sir.’
Mr Andrews’ jaw dropped and he stared at Miss Jenkins, flabbergasted. ‘Thirty thousand dollars?’
‘That’s right.’
‘By heck, you’ve got to be joking!’
‘No joke, Sir.’
Andrews rubbed his chin as the facts sunk in. ‘So that’s why he’s never been expelled. What do the other teachers f
eel about that?’
‘Most of them don’t think it’s right, sir.’
‘Of course it’s not right!’
‘The ones who complain are those who have to teach him.’
‘I’m not surprised. Is he really as bad as his file says?’
‘Definitely. Although, I think that the file does tend to make a lot of fuss, really.’
‘Well, so it should! If the things that I’ve read are true, then I would expect more of a fuss! This is not on. We can’t have a student manipulating his teachers and flagrantly breaking rules just because his parents pay the school a bribe.’
‘He does have plenty of good points.’
Andrews' opinion of Miss Jenkins slipped a notch. He would not be fooled as easily as her. ‘Come off it, Miss Jenkins!’ He grabbed a stack of papers from the file. ‘Look at all this. The kid’s a menace! He’s the worst student I’ve ever come across. I’ve never known one student to get away with so much. Most of the things mentioned in this portfolio were instant dismissal at my last school. This kid should have been expelled ages ago! Already today this boy has humiliated one of his teachers in front of the entire class.' He gathered his hand into a fist above the file on his desk. ‘Perhaps Mr Cassidy requires an immediate example of my expectations in this school. An immediate example! Oh, I can assure you Miss Jenkins that I am going to do my duty as principal and rid the school of this blight. After today he will be sorry for his insubordination!’
The Mob from TAC Page 5
