Moray College’s management board has been criticised amid claims staff are being kept in the dark over the surprise sacking of its principal.
Elgin councillor Mike Shand claimed staff had not been “talked to at all” about the shock dismissal of Frank Hughes earlier this month, and questioned the chain of communication at the UHI campus.
He made the comments during a discussion of management and leadership in Moray primary and secondary schools at yesterday’s children and young people’s services committee meeting.
Councillors agreed in principle to restructure management in Moray’s 45 primary schools, which could see schools with nurseries and schools with a roll of 200 or more benefit from interim principal teachers and deputy heads as early as August of this year.
It was also agreed that a full review of management in secondary schools would be looked at more closely after the more urgent primary school process gets under way.
But although Mr Shand praised Moray College’s role as a “significant partner” in the Moray Economic Partnership, he raised concerns about the “recent upheavals” in management.
Mr Shand said: “Moray College UHI is a significant partner in the Moray Economic Partnership (MEP) and was greatly praised by the consultants at the recent charrette in central Elgin about the regeneration of central Elgin.
“And, of course, pupils going from council schools attend many courses in the college, so, it’s an important organisation.
“But we can only look, I’m afraid, from afar at the recent upheavals in the college.
“The removal of a new principal that was appointed and put in place by the board in August was then removed by the same board in March.
“I know that the staff have not been talked to at all. Any communication has been by terse e-mail. No one has actually talked to the staff about the current situation.
“Has there been any contact, recent contact, whatsoever with one of Moray Council’s most important partners?”
However, committee chairwoman Councillor Anne Skene told Mr Shand that it would be “inappropriate” for the committee to discuss internal staffing affairs at the college and asked him to wait for a briefing from the community planning partnership.