KEY POINTS:
A case of a teacher who got a payout after claiming students had bullied him because of anti-Americanism is back before employment authorities.
Gregg Smith, who is from the United States, resigned from Dannevirke High School in July last year and began personal grievance proceedings against the school.
Mr Smith claimed at the time that the school had failed to provide a safe working environment by refusing to address student misbehaviour and instead blaming his own "character flaws".
The then 55-year-old said students called him a paedophile, a pervert, a "f***ing Yankee" and "gay boy", falsely accused him of looking at students inappropriately, and threatened to beat him up.
He claimed students constantly misbehaved by throwing water-soaked tampons around the room, pouring Twink on one another's heads and jumping out of windows during examinations.
A confidential settlement between Mr Smith and the school was reached in the Employment Relations Tribunal in Palmerston North last November.
However, this week the case went back to an Employment Relations Authority hearing.
Neither Mr Smith nor his representative could be contacted but Dannevirke High's lawyer, Christine Chilwell, said Mr Smith alleged the principal broke confidentiality in a prizegiving speech late last year in which he referred to a "professional issue" that had faced the school.
In the speech, principal Mike Tribe spoke of how the school had received a "national profile, not of our choice" and said legal reasons prevented him from commenting at length.
Ms Chilwell said Mr Smith was also claiming he did not know the school had written to the Teachers Council about the case.
It is understood Mr Smith wanted to overturn the earlier settlement and was seeking damages.
Ms Chilwell said Monday's hearing was adjourned until Mr Smith's former representative was available to give evidence.
Mr Smith had worked at the school for a year and a half after graduating from the Dunedin College of Education.
He holds a provisional teaching certificate - which all new teachers remain on for at least two years of supervised teaching experience - which expires in December.
