Former Tauranga Boys' College teacher Pinky Green. Photo / NZME
An Ombudsman’s decision has found Tauranga Boys’ College did not release all requested official information it should have to former student Glenn Marshall, who was propositioned by disgraced ex-teacher Pinky Green for bondage in 1988.
The college says it spent $45,000 on legal costs responding to the Official Information Act requests about Green, who sexually harassed students in the 1980s.
Further documents will now be released after the Ombudsman said the school was “not entitled” to withhold some information requested by Marshall 20 months ago.
The college says it welcomes the Ombudsman’s advice as it has “never” had to deal with this type of complaint before.
Marshall was in Year 13 at Tauranga Boys’ College in 1988 when he says English teacher Green asked him to tie him naked to a chair and perform bondage on him.
He reported Green’s behaviour and three other boys came forward with similar stories. Green left the school soon after, having taught there for 28 years. He died in January 2022.
Marshall approached Tauranga Boys’ College in 2021 asking for a public apology because he believed reputational damage to the school was prioritised over the wellbeing of students at the time.
The school reinvestigated but initially told Marshall there was no evidence it was “swept under the carpet” at the time and the Board of Trustees did not support a public apology.
Marshall complained to other authorities and, following inquiries by Open Justice, the school apologised in March 2022 for historical sexual harassment and “to all former students who suffered abuse while in our care”.
At least five complainants have come forward with similar stories to that of Marshall.
Marshall, now living in Napier, said in his opinion the Ombudsman’s decision was “pretty damning” and he believed showed the “lack of care” the college took in assessing the OIA request and releasing information.
He said it took 34 years for the school to publicly apologise and had the school handled the Pinky Green matter “appropriately”, he “would never have needed to submit OIA requests in the first place”.
In the decision released last month, chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said the college was “not entitled” to refuse Marshall’s requests for information.
This included all information the college identified relating to the Green affair, the amount spent on legal costs since the complaint was made in 2021, correspondence between the college and its representatives about the independent review and information relating to yearbooks, names and positions of staff for the reason that it was “frivolous or vexatious”.
Boshier recommended the school “reconsider” its decision to refuse the requests and to release the amount spent on legal costs.
A media statement from the college this week said it was taking the matter seriously and “fully committed” to complying with the recommendations.
“We are grateful for the guidance provided by the Ombudsman, and accept we could have done better, despite the considerable resources dedicated to responding to this matter.”
The statement said the school incurred costs of about $45,000 on “prudent legal review” responding to the OIA requests.
“Responding to these requests reflects our commitment to transparency, accountability, and student safety.”
The statement said the school “deeply regrets” the historical cases of sexual propositions to former students by a former staff member and again apologised to former students who suffered abuse.
“We commend their bravery in coming forward and believe that what happened to them was unacceptable.”
In a statement to the Bay of Plenty Times responding to Marshall’s comments, Tauranga Boys’ College principal Andrew Turner said he understood Marshall’s perspective on the report may be “damning”.
“From our perspective … we welcome the advice and guidance from the Ombudsman who has highlighted some areas we could have done better in terms of responding to Mr Marshall’s 34 OIA requests.”
Turner said the school had “never” had to deal with this type of complaint before and accepted its response “may have not been as thorough as expected”.
Turner said the issue was “thoroughly investigated” by the school in 1988 and an apology given to Marshall and his family at the time.
“Due to the delicate nature of the incident to protect the privacy and integrity of all parties, no public apology was given as the matter was between Mr Marshall and Mr Green and dealt with accordingly.”
Turner said Marshall was also raising questions “that could have legal implications for all parties” – hence the $45,000 in legal fees.
Turner said the originally withheld information would be released.
A tax invoice provided by Marshall shows he paid $1094 to the college for his OIA request in June 2022, for which he is now seeking a refund.
Marshall sent Turner an email on December 18 requesting a refund.
In response on January 16, Turner sent the Ombudsman’s charging guidelines for official information and said if it was deemed by the Ombudsman the charge was “not appropriate,” the school would “more than happily reimburse you with interest”.
In Marshall’s response, he said if the Ombudsman ruled in the college’s favour, he planned to file proceedings with the Tauranga District Court via the Disputes Tribunal for breach of the Consumer Guarantees Act.
Editor’s note: Green was a former Bay of Plenty Times fishing columnist.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.