US church launches search for new HKIS school head amid legal row with operator

Hong Kong International School was co-founded by Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).

Photo: Dickson Lee A US church that co-founded a prestigious Hong Kong international school has said it will take the lead in searching for a new head as the operator had failed to nominate candidates since 2022, accusing it of creating the “risk of leadership interruption” in the latest salvo in a war of words.

The move by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) was revealed in a letter to parents on Sunday from Hong Kong International School (HKIS) management, which called the search part of church actions “designed to create distraction and uncertainty around the school”.

LCMS, which co-founded the school in 1966, confirmed with the South China Morning Post that it was now conducting its own search for the next head, saying “leadership uncertainty is disruptive for students and families”.

The recruitment efforts came after the church sued HKIS last September, alleging a breach of an operational agreement and accusing the school of serving only the “rich and privileged few” and amassing excessive financial reserves.

The school is operated by Hong Kong International School Association Limited (HKISAL). “To protect student welfare and ensure a smooth transition, we gave nearly a year’s notice and scheduled the head of school change between school years,” LCMS said. “Before any litigation, we asked HKISAL to lead the search, but with no process under way and the risks to leadership continuity growing, we acted to begin the search ourselves. “The LCMS believes that HKISAL has created the risk of leadership interruption at HKIS if no head of school is in place for the start of the next school year, which leads to uncertainty and instability for HKIS students and families.” It said authority to appoint the head of school rested with LCMS under the operating agreement.

HKIS’ current head, Ron Roukema, was appointed by LCMS in 2017, but only on an interim basis until now.

There were two joint searches in 2017 and 2019 by the church and HKIS management, but no candidate ultimately emerged who was acceptable to all parties, according to LCMS.

The church said it raised the search issue with the management in 2022, and in September 2025, before the litigation, reminding them to run a search for the next school head.

But it claimed the management had not commenced a search for the next school head despite repeated reminders, adding the search should not be delayed simpl

原文链接: 南华早报