A christchury director wiped the tears of his eyes and said he was a victim of bullying as they gave proof at an audience of the labor relations authority.
Susan Mowat accused his former unemployment, the High School of Christchurch boys, of unfair resignation.
The former teacher states that she left school in 2019 due to bullying, harassment and false accusations of the school principal, NIC Hill.
But on the fourth day of the audience, Hill defended the handling of the relationship with Mowat, telling the authority that he tried to work constructively with the teacher.
Mowat’s lawyer Kathryn Dalziel pressured Hill about whether he kept a fixed and negative opinion from the teacher, asking about a series of disputes Dalziel characterized as Hill Reprimanding Mowat.
“Did you think she’s hard to work?” Dalziel asked.
“There was badly -it was clear that she cared about the children who were very important to me. I gave her feedback,” Hill replied.
When asked if he felt Mowat was undermining him, Hill replied, “Yes.”
Dalziel asked if there was an imbalance of power in the relationship. Hill said he would hesitate to characterize this way.
During the interrogation of AJ Lodge School Lawyer, Hill reverses the dynamics of the conflict.
“The reality was that I was intimidated,” he said.
“That had an impact. The most difficult was the impact on the family.”
Clearly showing emotion, Hill said she didn’t feel safe.
“I remember being called the terrible speaker by Susan.
“I broke and cried that night.
“I felt constantly under attack and vulnerable. It was a terrible moment.”
Before the audience he heard from several episodes in which Mowat said he was criticized, including student safety handling; the adequacy of her talking about an education conference; and communication issues when TVNZ filmed in the school ground.
Details of another incident were suppressed.
Mowat’s complaints include the claim that she sent anonymous letters to the school council attacking Hill. She denied writing the letters.
She also stated that the minutes of the school council meeting during this period had been fraudulent.
The audience should end on Friday.
