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Students at Canadian International School show their support for primary section principal Dylan Hughes and vice-principal Kathy Nutting, who are said to have been fired amid controversy over the school's governance issues. Photo: SCMP

Principal fired after weeks of enforced leave from Canadian International School

A top administrator of the Canadian International School was sacked on Thursday after being put "on leave" for more than half a month, the school confirmed.

Dylan Hughes was removed as principal of the primary section because he had refused to cooperate with management, the school said, following its termination of his deputy, Kathy Nutting, days earlier.

Legal battles appear to be shaping up next for the troubled school, as both the fired pair and lawyer parents vow separately to pursue the case.

Maloberti said Hughes had declined to comply with his "contractual obligations" to "work cooperatively with the head of school and board of governors".

"As such the school has no other option but to discontinue the employment relationship with Mr Hughes today," he wrote.

Hughes had been made to stay away since March 9, while Nutting was sent packing after she informed all primary-section parents about his enforced leave.

The duo threatened legal action in their own email to parents.

They denied having "engaged in any action to warrant the employment actions taken against us" and that they had been mulling "legal remedies to contest the unreasonable and/or unlawful termination of our contracts".

Parents and teachers said they were "outraged" and "depressed" by the loss of the two administrators. A lawyer parent said several of them in the same profession had teamed up to ensure Hughes and Nutting would get "top-notch legal representation", but declined to disclose the nature of their planned action before the cases were filed.

But another parent, who has two daughters in the primary section, said it was normal for an organisation to dismiss people and that parents and teachers should trust the school's decision.

The school said it believed it had acted lawfully and that the board of governors were in unison over the decision.

It would identify candidates for the vacated posts through a "rigorous selection process", a spokeswoman said. "We are confident that, given time, the school will be restored to a position of stability and unity."

Staff, pupils and parents who decry the leadership shake-up believe the school is trying to avoid the pair criticising its governance when representatives of the Netherlands-based Council of International Schools visits for accreditation checks.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: School principal fired after weeks of enforced leave
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