The board of Brindabella Christian College has blamed The Canberra Times for $150,000 in lost revenue after "a few families" pulled out of the school in response to a series of articles written earlier this year.
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In an end-of-year email to staff, board chairman Greg Zwajgenberg said reporting on the sacking of former principal Bruce Handley had financially hurt the school, derailed negotiations on the use of land at St Ninian's Church and led to "extremist phone calls and emails", one of which shut down the Charnwood campus.
The Canberra Times reported in August that Brindabella Christian College had written to parents to urge them to vote "no" in the same-sex marriage survey.
It later reported Mr Handley had distanced himself from the same-sex marriage letter, taken leave and had a case in front of the Fair Work Commission related to bullying when he was sacked without warning in November.
The board said his termination came after a review, later claiming that it partly related to his "failure to ensure registration for the college to enable it to teach years 5 and 6 at Charnwood".
Mr Zwajgenberg wrote The Canberra Times articles had also seen questions raised by the federal government, though did not say what those questions were. A federal Education Department spokesman would not be drawn on any correspondence with the college.
"As a board we have no issue whatsoever covering off the questions, however, as volunteers the amount of wasted time taken up by the board to deal with this is so completely unnecessary," Mr Zwajgenberg wrote.
Long-term and well-respected former principal Elizabeth Hutton left Brindabella Christian College in early 2015 after what was understood to be a dispute with the school board.
Families have been lobbying for representation on Brindabella's four-person board without success since 2015. The results of a review held after dozens of parents united to fight for greater transparency were not made public.
The authors behind the review would not be drawn on their findings earlier this month.
Lynne Doneley and Craig Murison said: "We can ... tell you the report made many very positive observations of the excellent educational programs offered by the school and of the obvious evidence the school created a warm, safe and caring learning environment for its students.
"The staff and parents we spoke to were very affirming of the school."
Mr Zwajgenberg's December 9 staff email said The Canberra Times's reporting had the potential to harm its search for a new principal, questioning why employees had spoken with the publication.
"Defaming the college may well interfere with applicants for the new principal's position advertised last weekend nationally," he said.
"Whilst God has always had the college in his hands, this is again simply irresponsible by those that contributed to The Canberra Times articles, and again not that The Canberra Times saying it was from within actually makes it truthful."
