School principal’s alleged anti-vax posts raises concern

The principal of a rural school near Nelson is being taken to task over anti Covid-19 vaccination and response material he posted on social media.

Two people have contacted Stuff with concerns about the nature of posts they say Tapawera Area School principal, Kelvin Woodley, has made on Facebook.

Anti-vaccination memes were shared on a Facebook page, posted under the name Kelly Ned, which is said to be his, including one showing the “proper use” of a face mask was to use as a cloth to wipe oil on when checking the car’s dipstick.

The Ministry of Education said it was aware of the Facebook posts.

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Deputy Secretary Sector Support and Enablement Katrina Casey said it had received a complaint about an anti vaccination Facebook post and referred the complainant to contact the school board and formally raise their concerns.

The ministry phoned the school to advise it of the complaint and that it had referred the complainant back to the school formal complaints process.

“While individuals may choose not to be vaccinated, we would be very concerned if a senior and influential member of the education community was speaking out against the advice of the Director General of Health. This is totally inappropriate given the regard with which they are held in their communities.”

A Tapawera resident who sent screenshots of the posts to the Nelson Mail said a school principal should not be sharing such material online, or “poo-pooing” vaccinations with “fake news”.

Vulnerable people would believe what was being said by somebody in a position of authority, she said.

Parents had “expressed some alarm that he’s posting those things” in general conversation, and questioned whether it was appropriate given his position, she said.

Woodley declined to speak to the Nelson Mail about the posts, or confirm if they were his.

In an email, he said no complaint had been received about the matters raised.

He said the school had a complaints policy that people should use, and advised contacting the school board of trustees chairperson for any further comment.

Board chairperson Carolyn Ellis said employment law required it to keep any discussions related to an individual confidential.

“Our board of trustees recognises that our principal is a leader in the community and with that comes a responsibility to provide accurate information at all times,” she said.

The board took all complaints raised with it seriously, she said.