A DECISION not to appoint a popular Robinvale College acting principal permanently has angered staff, parents and members of the wider community.
The school learned on Tuesday that acting principal Natalie Mouvet would serve her last day at the school on Thursday, suddenly leaving students without a principal for the start of Term 2.
Ms Mouvet had been managing the role of acting principal at the school for the past 18 months and was a popular figure, having drastically improved student and staff morale during her tenure, staff members said.
Under her leadership, staff claimed the school had achieved every target in its four-year strategic plan within 12 months.
About 65 of the 70 staff at the school now live locally, and Ms Mouvet employed numerous higher-education teachers to boost local options for Year 11 and 12 students.
Student engagement was also said to have transformed, as the school went from having 414 suspensions in 2022 to 137 suspensions in 2023.
However, despite what parents and staff considered to be a proven track record, she was unsuccessful in her application for the role of executive class principal.
A Department of Education spokesperson said that as a result, Ms Mouvet would be returning to her role as principal of Manangatang P-12 College from the start of Term 2.
“The recruitment process for the position of principal at Robinvale College is ongoing, with an appointment expected to be announced in the coming months,” the spokesperson said.
The Department did not answer questions about the circumstances of her departure, whether the decision was final, or whether the department would prioritise candidates willing to live in Robinvale.
Staff at the school told The Guardian that Ms Mouvet lives in Robinvale and was prepared to buy a local property if she secured the role.
They also said this was the second time Ms Mouvet had applied for the role and was knocked back, and the department had requested for her to remain as acting principal while they sought her replacement.
Careers councillor Julie Kelly, who had worked with seven principals at the college over 18 years, said she was “baffled” Ms Mouvet didn’t get the job, labelling the department’s decision indefensible.
“We were all blindsided,” Ms Kelly said.
“I don’t know whether they’ve got an ulterior motive or what they think they are going to do, but executive principals don’t just drop out of trees.
“Now we’re left with no one, and we’ve got a principal that was really wanting to be here.”
Student support manager Travis Bussell said Ms Mouvet had proven to be innovative and community focused, and had influenced positive change.
“That’s the biggest thing with Nat is that she’s not here just to come and get a pay check,” Mr Bussell said.
“She’s invested in the kids, she’s invested in their families and in the community, and that’s why we are desperate to have her here.
“My phone has been running hot with parents asking ‘what is going on, what do you know?’ and I have to say I don’t know anything.
“I can’t even defend the Department on that because they refused to give us more information. We need information.”
Education support staffer Santina Zappia said the decision would set the school back five years.
“She wants to be here, she wants to live here, and it’s so hard to get anyone to want to do that,” Ms Zappia said.
“I just don’t understand.
“The regional (Education Department) office needs to listen to the community of Robinvale.
“If they want to do the best for the school and the best for the students, they need to re-employ Nat.”
Member for Mildura Jade Benham said she had fielded “no less than 150 phone calls” about the matter, and spoke to Education Minister Ben Carroll’s chief of staff, who advised her to “trust the process”.
Furious at the response, Ms Benham has requested students, parents, teachers and school-council members email the Minister directly.
“Robinvale College is now left leaderless while students, teachers and families grapple with uncertainty and unease as they await the return of school in a couple of weeks,” Ms Benham said.
A petition is currently circulating the Robinvale community requesting that the decision be overturned, and staff will hold a meeting with the school council next week to discuss the matter.
‘Why didn’t somebody get the job?’
QUESTIONS over ongoing leadership at Robinvale College have parents and former staff members fearing the worst.
Paul Costa has a son in Year 7 at the school.
He was going to send him to a school in Mildura this year, but had witnessed the positive influence Ms Mouvet was having at Robinvale College, and it changed his mind.
“It just seemed like such a happy, happy environment compared to what we had (and) the horror stories that we’ve been hearing,” Mr Costa said.
“When you see such a turnaround, why would you muck with that?”
Learning of Ms Mouvet’s departure, Mr Costa said that inevitably it would fuel rumours about the school’s future.
“You start thinking that something strange is going on,” Mr Costa said.
Prior to last year, about 140 children from Robinvale caught school buses to Mildura every day, rather than studying at local campuses.
It was a trend Ms Mouvet was addressing, and one Mr Costa feared might now be in jeopardy.
“Sending your kids somewhere to another town by the droves, it’s just shocking for Robinvale,” he said.
“Getting up an hour earlier, getting home an hour later, it takes a big part of their day and big lot of lot of energy, and it’s a lot of inconvenience for them and the whole family.”
Retired teacher Sue Smith spent four decades teaching at Robinvale College.
She credited Ms Mouvet’s departure to the “bloody mindedness” of the regional Education Department office.
“It really does beggar belief,” Ms Smith said.
“If they’d done their background research, they would have realised that they have got someone who is doing the right thing.
“If you’ve got staff who are who are happy, who feel valued and who can see results in the outcomes for students, if the person who’s leading them is no longer there, are they going to stay?
“Probably not, I’d say.”
Fellow retired Robinvale College teacher Sue Neyland said all the progress made at the school over the past 18 months could be eroded completely.
“What’s wrong? Why didn’t she get the job? Or why didn’t somebody get the job? If not Nat, then somebody,” Ms Neyland said.
“I think the school needs stability in their leadership.”
She suggested that if Ms Mouvet’s application wasn’t at executive class principal status, then she should have been offered a principal position instead.
“If she’s good enough to be a principal down there (at Manangatang), she’s good enough to be a principal here,” she said.
“It defies logic.”
The Education Department advised that the classification of executive class principal had existed in Victoria since 2008, and it had a higher salary than a principal to reflect a different degree of role complexity and responsibility.
