A whistleblower working under the rollout of a major Victorian school merger has claimed a toxic culture is ruining the mental health of teachers and trickling down to students.
Teachers at the Greater Shepparton Secondary College are on the verge of lodging a grievance complaint through the Australian Education Union, amid revelations dozens have resigned, moved schools or taken stress leave.
The region's four public high schools merged this year to form the college, as part of a plan to address dire educational outcomes.
Earlier this year, the Victorian Government said the Shepparton Education Plan was 'revolutionary' for country education.
But one teacher said the management style in which the plan had been rolled out was taking a serious toll.
The teacher wished to remain anonymous and said many staff were afraid of speaking out for fear of retribution.
"Morale is at an all-time low," they said.
"There are people who are dishevelled, they've lost weight, they're gaunt and looking yellow in their complexion.
"By speaking out I will be labelled as just a disgruntled teacher, but there is a real thing going on here that people need to be made aware of."
Merger management 'confronting and disorganised'
Students from the four schools were this year scattered across three campuses, waiting for their new 'super-school' to be built.
It has meant significant upheaval for the school and is now the only publicly-funded high-school in Shepparton and Mooroopna, diminishing options for a town already known for its disadvantage.
The teacher, who has supported the merger, called its management "confronting" and "disorganised".
Staff have been ordered to move to other campuses without explanation, despite the promise they would remain at a campus of their choosing until the complete of the build in 2022.
Teachers have also been swapped to teaching unfamiliar year levels at random without consultation.
The source said the staff expected a certain degree of disorder but not a lack of compassion from those spearheading the plan.
They said it had led to the loss of some of the best teachers in the Goulburn Valley.
"The people who left were in the prime years of their teaching and were not comfortable with the way they'd been treated," they said.
"Parents are not aware of the magnitude of how bad it really is — but they will be when their kids don't get the results we've been promising."
The ABC has been supplied a list of 54 teachers who had or were considering resigning or moving schools, with the names confirmed by an internal source.
One teacher resigned in 2018 after plans for the merger were revealed, with that number rising to 14 in 2019 and 17 in 2020.
Five casual relief teachers resigned in 2019, and 17 flagged potential departures soon.
The document also confirmed six teachers had taken stress leave in 2020.
Former teacher concerned
The numbers have raised questions about how educational outcomes will be addressed in the face of major inconsistencies.
"The literacy and numeracy skills among some students are so far below where they were, and that's because of the lack of consistency," the teacher said.
"Education in Shepparton will never succeed unless something miraculous happens."
Former Shepparton teacher Jenny Houlihan said she was concerned about the effect the rollout would have on students.
"The transition has really been done in quite a non-feeling way, as if students and teachers are pawns on a chess board," she said.
"The number of years of experience that has gone with those teachers is a huge loss."
Enrolment numbers drop
Enrolments at the GSSC have dropped by more than 100 students since the merger was imposed earlier this year.
Official Census data at the beginning of 2020 recorded 2,334 students enrolled across the three campuses, but as of November 30, 2,182 students were enrolled.
Shepparton education campaigner Robyn Boschetti, who initially pushed to stop the school from going ahead, said some parents had gone to great lengths to move their children from the school.
"There have been a lot of broken promises from the Education Department and from the administration of the school — and a lot of people aren't happy," she said.
Ms Boschetti is now pushing for more options and wants the Victorian Government and local politicians to listen.
"For the money they spent at that one school, they could've spent $30 million on each of the four schools to bring up the quality for the buildings, the equipment, more teachers and programs, but they chose not to," she said.
College has 'managed disruption'
A spokesperson from the Victorian Department of Education said in a statement that the college had had a successful initial year operating as a single entity.
"The College has managed the disruptions this year extremely well and [we are] working closely with the college to support all staff at the end of a long and challenging year," the spokesperson said.
"A number of new staff have been appointed who bring with them new insights and new experience."
The Australian Education Union declined to comment.
The Executive Principal of the Greater Shepparton Secondary College did not respond to requests for an interview.
