Look.
We all knew that David Seymour’s bullshit Charter Schools were a scam and that his legislation allowed for 3rd party Charter School takeovers, but no one in their right mind had any clue that there would be actual 3rd Party hostile takeovers.
Until Kelston Boys, but what is most extraordinary is the bananas crazy cavalcade of political circus freaks who were behind the takeover.
This NZ Herald story may be the greatest this year…
The hostile takeover of an Auckland public school has collapsed amid a controversial, struck-off doctor trying to gag the Herald from revealing his ties to the charity behind it.
Former GP Rhys Cullen – who has historic convictions for receiving stolen cars and separately lost his medical licence in 2007 for prescribing more than 46,000 pseudoephedrine tablets without just cause – launched High Court action against the Heraldwhen questioned about his role.
Cullen works closely with Siaosi Gavet and the Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust (Bewt), the small charity that attempted to takeover 800-student Kelston Boys’ High School.
Gavet and Bewt had hoped to convert the state school into a privately-run charter school they would control, funded by taxpayers.
The school’s board and staff members opposed it throughout, posting a letter yesterday with “wonderful news” that Bewt’s bid had been withdrawn this week.
“We sincerely hope no other school in New Zealand will have to experience what our community has endured,” the school’s presiding board member Sanalio Kaihau said.
Gavet denied Cullen’s ties with Bewt when the Herald sought comment a fortnight ago.
“Rhys Cullen has nothing to do with us. I’ll make that categorically clear in terms of what we’re doing with the conversions,” Gavet said.
“He’s not a part of this conversion, not a part of Bewt and what it is we do,” he added.
Cullen told the Herald he didn’t support Kelston Boys’ conversion into a charter school and couldn’t understand why his past was relevant.
…what the actual fuck?
“I can see that there might be some relevance to the application if I supported it, but I do not. I have no intention of becoming involved,” he said.
Cullen then applied for an urgent injunction to stop the Herald publishing.
When the Herald successfully opposed that, he filed an appeal – restricting our ability to publish for another fortnight.
On Thursday this week, Cullen withdrew his action without his appeal being heard, noting he wasn’t sure he had “energy to pursue this matter”.
Bewt, in the meantime, quietly dropped its takeover bid for Kelston Boys.
And around the same time, Cullen sat side-by-side with Gavet in Bewt’s West Auckland club rooms for a TVNZ video interview to discuss the takeover. That was despite his legal action continuing to gag the Herald.
Cullen was presented in the interview as Bewt’s main tutor and educator and a key part of its success.
Gavet declared in the same segment that he backed Cullen “110%”.
“My community profile I’ll lay on the line,” he said regarding his support for Cullen.
How could a cavalcade of political circus freaks even get this close to taking over a public school?
Isn’t something terribly amiss when this becomes even a possibility?
Our excellent public education system is flexible enough to create charter schools IF the School and the community wants it, allowing political circus freaks like this to start their own school is insane!
This image manages to encompass the no chin reality of Charter Schools…
…what on earth is going on here and does every parent now fear a 3rd Party hostile takeover like this at their local school from characters you wouldn’t trust with your milk money?
WTF?
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We shouldn’t judge people on their looks, but…