The tenure of Kildare Catholic College principal Rod Whelan has come to an abrupt end, with the diocese revealing he "no longer works at the college".
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Mr Whelan's sudden departure from the college was announced in a statement released on Friday afternoon by the Catholic Education Diocese of Wagga Wagga.
"For legal and privacy reasons, I am unable to provide any additional information about this matter," Mark MacLean, the director of schools, said in the statement.
Last week The Daily Advertiser inquired about Mr Whelan's absence from the college and was told by the diocese that a letter had gone out to parents explaining the situation.
That letter stated Mr Whelan "will be commencing a period of leave effective 14 August 2019".
However, Mr MacLean confirmed on Friday that Mr Whelan would not be returning.
Bill Wood, a parent of a year 7 student at the school and member of the school council, has expressed his shock at the decision.
"Rod Whelan took that school from struggling and in just five years he's made it one of the strongest in Wagga, that is phenomenal in that amount of time," Mr Wood said.
"From what I've seen, he's brilliant and may be the best educator I've ever come across."
A teacher himself, Mr Wood said Mr Whelan's approach to delivering education results was not necessarily traditional, but that he had not been met with push-back from the school community.
"He was passionate and focused in the job only weeks ago, so I'd say answers need to be given on why he's gone now," Mr Wood said.
"I've never heard staff speak about a principal in more glowing terms than they did with Rod.
"You'd be hard pushed to find anyone with a bad word for him.
"It'll be a massive hit to the school, and to Wagga. We need to do all we can to get Rod back."
Christie Scoble will be acting principal and Alison Sutton will continue in her current role as assistant principal.
Mr MacLean said that Mater Dei Catholic College principal Val Thomas "has agreed to continue to support and mentor Christie and Alison during this time".
He said the board will continue to determine "the most appropriate course of action for appointing a new principal".
"We ask for the community's understanding during this difficult time to help minimise any disruption to student learning, especially in preparation for the upcoming HSC examinations," he said.