JC's acting principal claims he 'discovered' Jarrett's many fundraising projects after probe
Published:Tuesday | July 18, 2023 | 12:41 AM
Acting principal of Jamaica College, Wayne Robinson, filed an application in the Supreme Court in May for the lawsuit he filed last year against former president of the JC Old Boys Association (JCOBA), Major Basil Jarrett, to be amended because Jarrett allegedly carried out fundraising activities for which he has not accounted to the school.
The parties have been involved in a legal battle in the Supreme Court since last year over the alleged utilisation of proceeds of the sale of school uniforms by Jarrett and the association.
Jarrett is seeking to strike out the claim filed against him. The application to amend the claim and Jarrett’s application to strike out the claim came before the court last week and were adjourned to January next year. Supreme Court Judge Opal Smith, in adjourning the matter because Jarrett’s lawyer was sick, ordered the parties to go to mediation in an attempt to try and settle the matter out of court.
“After conducting investigations, I discovered that Mr Jarrett carried out several other activities, including fundraisers and seeking and/or accepting donations using, among other things, the GoFundMe, CashApp, and PayPal platforms, which he has not accounted for, and the school has no record of the proceeds being handed over to Jamaica College,” Robinson gave as one of the reasons for applying for an amendment.
He has outlined that he is also seeking to amend his fixed-date claim because of an affidavit Jarrett filed on June 6, 2022, in response to the claim. He said Jarrett stated that the JCOBA was independent of Jamaica College and “was not obligated to account for any funds, profits or losses etc, to either me or the school”.
He said Jarrett further stated that the funds raised from all activities of the association during his tenure as president are the property of the association, which Jarrett describes in his affidavit as simply “an association of past students of Jamaica College established for the purposes of maintaining ties between the school and its old boys in order to provide moral, financial, and resource support".
Robinson says he is alarmed by Jarrett’s posture in relation to his role and the association’s role and obligations to the school.
“I also became concerned that Mr Jarrett’s failure to give an account and pay over the sums to the school was not limited to only the arrangement with Joseph Sports, but extends further,” Robinson claims.
He reiterated that as the acting principal, he has a duty to protect the school’s interest and to account to its various stakeholders for Jarrett’s actions. In the interest of justice, he says he is asking the court to amend his claim so that he be allowed to properly put forward his case.
Robinson has stated in the fixed date claim form that he is seeking an order compelling Jarrett to account for any profits made from the sale of uniforms and any other merchandise made from Joseph Sports Inc in New York. According to Robinson, the defendant Jarrett received merchandise with more than US$49,353 from Joseph Sports, but in breach of his fiduciary duties and despite several demands from him, Jarrett has failed to account for or pay over the proceeds.
However, Jarrett has said in his affidavit that “the incontrovertible truth is that the 1908 JCOBA, under my hand and previous administrators, was always in lockstep unison with JC school, the JC students, and all other stakeholders at JC. But all of this changed when I made it clear to the Board of Management of JC that the position of the executive of the 1908 JCOBA was to object to a proposal by influential members of the Board of Management of JC to keep former minister of education and principal of JC (Mr Ruel Reid, who is now on serious criminal charges for offences of dishonesty) as JC’s principal in an effort to secure for his benefit his salary or his pension.
“Once this position was made clear, the 1998 JCOBA (under my leadership) suddenly came under sustained public and private attacks and a relentless campaign to malign me and other members of the 1908 JCOBA as 'treacherous enemies'.”
Jarrett said the suppliers of JCOBA knew and understood that JC was facing financial challenges due to COVID-19 management lockdown, and uniform sales were severely affected in the absence of face-to-face classes. As a result, JCOBA had to negotiate and manage a flexible payment schedule with the suppliers. A copy of the financial statements, which he said he has exhibited in court documents, was supplied to several persons. including Kirk Kennedy, a board member, and Robinson, who he said have denied receiving them.
Jarrett said further that financial statements for 18 months ending February 28, 2022, were prepared by chartered accountant Henry McDonald and were supplied to several persons, including Kennedy.
Jarrett has denied being appointed by Robinson to act as his agent with Josephs Sports and said he was the one who informed Robinson of the contract that had been signed. In the light of his desire to clear his name, he said he did not offer himself for re-election as president.
Robinson, who is being represented by King’s Counsel Michael Hylton and attorney-at-law Timera Mason, stated that Joseph Sports has demanded payment of the monies owed and has threatened to take legal action against Jamaica College for the sum of US$20,494.