The Board of Tauranga Boys’ College has apologised and refunded a former student more than $1000 after an Ombudsman decision found it was “unreasonable” the school charged him for official information relating to disgraced ex-teacher, the late Pinky Green.

Glenn Marshall was in Year 13 when he was propositioned by the English teacher for bondage in 1988.

He reported it, three other boys also came forward and Green resigned following an investigation.

He died in January 2022.

The college reviewed the case in 2021 after Marshall complained about how it had been handled and sought a public apology.

The review found its 1980s actions were appropriate for the time.

Marshall went to other authorities and media and in March 2022 the college made a public apology to all former students abused while in the college’s care.

Marshall has made dozens of requests to the school under the Official Information Act (OIA), which revealed the school spent $11,320.61 for external public relations services from March 2022 onwards relating to the Green case.

The college also said it spent $45,000 on legal costs responding to the OIA requests about Green.

Marshall complained to the Ombudsman about being charged $1094 to provide information he requested, and about the college’s part-refusal of his request for yearbook photos containing Green.

The school granted this “in part” by allowing Marshall to view a 1987 yearbook photo at the school’s lawyer’s office.

The Ombudsman’s decision

In a decision released on May 2, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said the college’s decision to charge Marshall for information relating to the Pinky Green matter was “unreasonable”.

Boshier said he had recommended the college revoke its charging decision and to refund Marshall $1094.

He also said the college should not have refused Marshall’s yearbook photos request, and recommended the school apologise.

Former Tauranga Boys' College teacher Pinky Green. Photo / NZME.

Boshier’s analysis said the yearbooks in question were publicly available at the Alexander Turnbull Library and the Tauranga Library also held a collection.

The yearbook photos were therefore in the public domain at the time the college refused to supply Marshall with copies.

Boshier said he had asked the school to notify him by May 16 what steps would be taken to give effect to his recommendations.

Marshall ‘ecstatic’ at Ombudsman ruling

Marshall told the Bay of Plenty Times he was “ecstatic” at the Ombudsman ruling, as in his view, it set a “precedent” in terms of schools seeking to charge victims of historical sexual assaults to access related information.

In his view, being charged for his OIA showed “a continuation of the moral bankruptcy” from the school.

Former Tauranga Boys' College student Glenn Marshall. Photo / Warren Buckland.

Marshall said he made a “special visit” to the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington and discovered “dozens” of photos of Green from the early 1960s to 1987.

Tauranga Boys’ College responds

Tauranga Boys’ College principal Andrew Turner said the Board had apologised to Marshall and refunded him “with interest as we agreed we would do”.

“The Board is fully committed to complying with the Ombudsman’s recommendations. We are grateful for the guidance provided by the Ombudsman in dealing with these matters.”

Turner said the decision to charge Marshall was based on the Ombudsman’s advice in dealing with official information requests, where there was scope for an agency to charge a fee for the recovery of information.

“Due to the number of requests we have received from Mr Marshall, now 45, and the extra administration required to fulfil these, a fee was charged.

“The review of this was deemed unreasonable so the amount plus interest has been repaid.”

Turner said the Board had always maintained this was a “new and complex process” and welcomed the advice and guidance from the Ombudsman’s office.

“This matter has been taken very seriously and considerable time and resources have been dedicated to responding to the range of requests Mr Marshall.”

Editor’s note: Green was a former Bay of Plenty Times fishing columnist.

-Bay of Plenty Times.