By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
A SECOND school principal in Greater Dandenong has been stood down and investigated by the Education Department following revelations about his “banker school” at an anti-corruption hearing.
Tony Bryant, principal at Silverton Primary School for 21 years, was stood down soon after admitting to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission on Monday that he had removed invoices for chocolate Easter bunnies from the school’s files.
During the hearing, Mr Bryant admitted he deliberately removed the invoices when confronted with a secretly taped conversation involving him.
Chandler Park Primary School principal Peter Paul was also suspended last month, pending a department investigation into IBAC’s findings.
IBAC is investigating alleged corruption involving Education Department senior executives buying perks such as wine, hotel stays and furniture by channelling funds through “banker schools”.
The “program co-ordinator” or “banker” school practice was purportedly to distribute funds to schools in the region.
On Monday, Mr Bryant said he didn’t question why up to $540,000 of department funds over four years were funnelled through his school by then-Education Department south-east regional director John Allman.
Mr Allman was sacked last month after admitting to IBAC he’d destroyed relevant financial records.
“When you’re directed by a senior executive to do this, this and this, we didn’t question it,” Mr Bryant told the hearing.
Mr Bryant said he knew the funds were used to pay for items not connected with his school but “appeared legitimate on the surface”.
“In hindsight now after what’s coming out in the last few weeks, I think we were being used.”
The chocolate bunnies – valued at $1229 – were bought by the school’s business manager Sue Mourant and sent to the Education Department’s offices in Treasury Place.
“We thought it was unusual at the time, but it was coming up to Easter and we thought obviously they have decided they’re going to give them away to maybe staff in there, I don’t know,” Mr Bryant said.
“So we followed the instructions and did it.”
Mr Bryant told the hearing the invoices had been taken from a “copy folder” and was not sure if the Easter bunnies didn’t look an “appropriate” part of the ‘banker school’ program.
According to invoices exhibited at the inquiry, the school paid nearly $40,000 to Royal Childrens Hospital – where Mr Allman was a board member.
Mr Bryant estimated another $100,000 was also paid to the hospital using a $240,000 grant – directed to the school by Mr Allman.
The school also paid for two-months’ accommodation in Glen Waverley for a department executive, a $43,500 printing bill, $2000-plus of Christmas puddings, $6000 to Alannah and Madeline Foundation, and various dining functions including for a departing department executive.
Mr Bryant told the hearing that since becoming a banker school, he’d been on up to eight overseas trips – some funded by his 2011 principal-of-the-year award, some funded by Microsoft for heading a “worldwide mentor school”.
Mr Bryant said he agreed to become a banker school in 2008 because it was an “honour”.
The school also gained up to $5000 interest on the department funds.
“In a really poor socio-economic area, any extra money is a benefit to the school,” Mr Bryant said.
He said Mr Allman put an end to the practice in 2011.
Around the same time, the school was told it had been “randomly selected” as part of an “extraordinary audit”, Mr Bryant said.
