The public purse has been drained of hundreds of thousands of pounds by troubled South Lanarkshire College amidst its ongoing management crisis.
That has seen suspended principal/chief executive Aileen McKechnie receive her full year’s salary of £125,000, along with pension contributions.
Suspended a year to the day in 2021 (November 30), she has since been replaced by two acting principals who have been paid a combined £114,583 to date.
On top of that, interim clerk to the board, Brian Keegan, was also suspended on full pay, racking up an eye-watering tab for the taxpayer to cover.
The information was made available to Lanarkshire Live following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
It showed that two acting principals, whose terms have run consecutively, are being paid at the same salary rate as Ms McKechnie.
Calculated at 11 months’ pro rata, SLC has paid the pair a combined £114,583 to date – on top of the suspended principal’s salary.
Under the same FOI request, it was confirmed that Mr Keegan has also been in receipt of his full salary since his suspension a year ago - however, his salary is not required to be published by the college in its annual accounts.
Ms McKechnie was suspended after she called for an external investigation into claims of misconduct at the institution.
Both she and Mr Keegan remain suspended amid a probe into “various complaints,” with next week’s board meeting of the college (December 8) expected to determine their future with the institution.
Ms McKechnie’s actions surrounded a report she’d commissioned into serious allegations centred on the construction faculty of the college.
In a highly unusual move, SLC’s EIS-FELA branch upheld a vote of ‘confidence’ in her at that time.
It’s one in a series of damning allegations that have emerged against the college in the last 12 months, including multiple, ongoing suspensions; claims of bullying; and whistleblowing staff.
Indeed, earlier this month we told you how brow-beaten staff were threatened with the sack after flagging up concerns about their working environment.
Speaking to us, staff claimed workers had moved to highlight “unprofessional and inappropriate name-calling” by a manager in an email to HR.
But rather than investigate the claims of concerned staff, bosses ‘threatened to call police’ claiming the email was “malicious correspondence”.
We also reported this month how bosses at the troubled institution expressed “serious concerns” of “considerable financial and reputational risks” should they suspend Ms McKechnie.
That came in the form of a letter sent to the Scottish cabinet secretary for education and skills, Shirley-Anne Somerville, on the eve of her dramatic suspension.
Calls for an urgent meeting with Ms Somerville were echoed in another letter sent collectively this week from MSPs Graham Simpson, Monica Lennon and Gillian Mackay.
The cross-party approach saw concerns raised over the length of time Ms McKechnie has been suspended and “mounting costs – heading towards a million pounds – which are likely to escalate further should she be sacked.”
These costs are believed to relate to HR consultancy costs and legal fees.
Their letter to Ms Somerville reads: “The college has already been subject to a Section 22 report by the Auditor General and it would not surprise us if there was another.
“We hope you will agree that the situation at the college is not acceptable.”
As part of our FOI request, Lanarkshire Live can reveal a further four members of SLC staff were suspended on full pay at a cost of £12,222, excluding pension contributions, in the past year.
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