Wesley Neumann (Foto: Wesley Neumann/Facebook)
Wesley Neumann is not yet allowed to return to his position as head of Heathfield High School.
The labor court in Cape Town dismissed Neumann’s application to return to the school as principal pending further court proceedings.
Neumann submitted an application to compel the Western Cape Education Department to reinstate him to his post after the Labor Court found in his favor in a review application in January. This court set aside Neumann’s dismissal last month and replaced it with a final written warning.
However, the Western Cape Education Department submitted an application for leave to appeal against the labor court’s January finding.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for David Maynier, Western Cape MEC for education, believes that with its latest finding that Neumann may not now return as principal, the labor court has “put the best interests of the learners of Heathfield High School first”.
The court found that there was nothing extraordinary or unique about the case that warranted a departure from the general rule that an appeal suspends the operation of a judgment.
The case concerns Neumann’s refusal to reopen the school during the covid-19 pandemic. Disciplinary action was taken against him in August 2020, and he was dismissed in May 2022. After a dispute with the Council on Labor Relations in Education was unsuccessful, he took the matter to the labor court.
Among other things, Neumann was charged with non-compliance with departmental orders and incitement through social media entries.
According to Mauchline, Heathfield High School is finally thriving and has just achieved a matric pass rate of 89.9% – the school’s highest in 15 years.
“It would not be in the best interests of the learners and school community if conditions like those under Neumann were to possibly return pending the outcome of the appeal. Neumann’s application never had any prospect of success and only served to waste taxpayer money.”