Reaction from Wakatipu High School staff members to the appointment of relieving principal Paul O'Connor has been positive, according to the man who appointed him.
Mr O'Connor was appointed as the school's relieving principal by external employment lawyer Peter MacDonald just days from the term's end.
Mr MacDonald said staff were pleased at the announcement.
Mr O'Connor would be relieving "until at least when the decision from the Employment Relations Authority is released".
Dismissed ex-principal Lyn Cooper had lodged a claim with the Employment Relations Authorityafter being asked to leave her position at the school last month.
Both parties have agreed to go into mediation. Mr MacDonald was employed by the Ministry of Education after the Educational Review Office found divisions in the communication structure of senior staff.
Both he and Mrs Cooper could not come to an agreement and the principal was asked to leave - a move which shocked the school community.
Mr O'Connor had been principal at James Hargest High School in Invercargill for 17 years and has taught at King's High School and Logan Park High School in Dunedin.
