A current teacher at the school gave evidence to the inquiry on Monday that he believed the now-retired principal Vicki Brewer may have failed to act out of a desire to avoid disruption at the school and maintain strong HSC results.
Castle Hill High School teachers John Connell and Shane Stubbs spoke out about the asbestos saga at a parliamentary inquiry on Monday. Dominic Lorrimer
Parents say they have been left in the dark through the years-long saga and are still concerned for their children’s safety after potentially being exposed to asbestos fibres,a substance which can cause asbestosis and certain cancers.
The Education Department acknowledged at the hearing that proper process was not followed by senior school staff,and that the government was not aware of the positive result until April this year,but said there is no evidence of a deliberate cover-up.
The inquiry heard teachers had raised concerns it was “raining asbestos” dust in staff rooms in the school up to eight years ago,with several staff so concerned they lodged complaints in an internal system.
A sample from a staff room that was sent off for testing in 2016 came back positive – the results sent to the inbox of a deputy principal’s general assistant – but staff were told it was “all clear”.
The now retired principal of Castle Hill High School has been placed on a “not to be employed” list by the education department.Facebook
The department last week determined that Brewer was to be placed on the “not to be employed list” following an internal investigation,the inquiry was told,while former deputy principal Andrew Mitchell was demoted and transferred to a new school.
Castle Hill High School teacher John Connell said he found it implausible that Brewer never knew the 2016 test results had come back,alleging a failure to act was driven by a desire to avoid disruption and achieve strong HSC results.
“She was the hardest working principal I’ve ever had,” he told the inquiry.
“She was incredibly hardworking and incredibly driven for her school to be a high-achieving school.
“I believe it was intentional and I believe it was driven by a desire for HSC results to just keep getting better. That’s my best hypothesis.”
Brewer was invited to give evidence at the inquiry but was not in attendance.
Education Department executive director of professional and ethical standards Daryl Currie said there was no evidence of an intentional cover-up and that human error was at the centre of the situation.
Retired Castle Hill High School Principal Vicki BrewerDepartment of Education
“[The 2016 test results] were in the inbox of a junior employee,” he told the inquiry.
“There was no evidence that it had been sighted by anybody else.”
Separately to the 2016 sample,the Education Department found asbestos at Castle Hill High School in 2020 through proactive monitoring activities,with remediation and air monitoring carried out in 2020 and 2021,the inquiry heard.
Parent Elizabeth Madders said the school community had been left completely in the dark through the years-long asbestos saga.
“We’ve lost all faith in the school,the Department of Education and school infrastructure,” she told the inquiry. “Parents have been asked to accept the unacceptable.”
She said parents had been met with a “wall of silence” when attempting to find out the truth of what happened between 2016 and 2020.
“Parents send their children to school and think,‘Is today the day they will breathe in deadly asbestos into their lungs?’ ” she said.
School Infrastructure NSW chief executive Anthony Manning told the inquiry that,at the heart of the six-year delay in action over the 2016 test,was that the school did not follow proper procedure when asbestos concerns were first raised.
“Unfortunately,in this case,the school did not contact the asset management unit when it should have and the AMU’s help and expertise was not immediately enlisted,” he said.
Manning acknowledged the concern raised among staff and parents and apologised for the “breakdown” that had occurred.
“There have been errors of judgment by senior members of the school staff that should not have occurred,” he said.
Manning said the long-term historic risk of exposure to asbestos at the school was considered to be low.
The issue was first brought to light publicly by Castle Hill MP Ray Williams,who became aware of the positive 2016 asbestos results in May.
Speaking at the inquiry,he defended Brewer,saying she had been an outstanding principal for the school.
“The academic achievement of that particular school,I think,speaks volumes on behalf of her ability as a principal,” Williams said.
Williams said he wanted an independent investigation into whether the school was safe for habitation today.
A spokesperson for the Education Department said she was confident there were no current asbestos issues at the school and all relevant clearance certificates had been provided by an independent hygienist.
Speaking after the hearing,Labor member of the upper house education committee Courtney Houssos said she was concerned that responsibility over asbestos in schools rested with principals,requiring them to be “site managers”.
“There is a clear need for more oversight from the Department of Education and we call on them today to conduct an audit of buildings to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” she said.
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