Miramonte Reopens to Mixed Emotions. Some Like the Changes - Others Want The Old Staff Back

LOS ANGELES - Scandal-plagued Miramonte Elementary School reopened today with new teachers, administrators, clerical staff and custodians after a sweeping shakeup -- bitterly resented by some parents -- prompted by the arrest of two teachers accused of committing lewd acts with children.

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The school was closed Tuesday and again Wednesday, when staff members banished from the campus met with their replacements and finished vacating their offices.

United Teachers Los Angeles, which initially raised no objections to the staff transfers, bitterly denounced the Los Angeles Unified School District this morning, accusing it of acting without a plan and traumatizing students.

The staff shakeup at Miramonte, which is located in the unincorporated Florence area and serves a largely immigrant community, was ordered by schools Superintendent John Deasy in response to the arrests of teachers Mark Henry Berndt, 61, and Martin Springer, 49. Some of the new teachers had been on a rehiring list created when the school district was forced to lay off educators in response to budget shortfalls.

Deasy's move was intended to reassure parents that the abuse issue was being addressed forcefully. But it has engendered bitter complaints from staff members, students and parents who say the house-cleaning was causing unnecessary disruptions for pupils while needlessly casting aspersions on good teachers who behave appropriately.

Some angry Miramonte mothers told news stations they were contemplating keeping their children home today to protest the upheaval.

The displaced teachers, administrators, clerical and custodial staff will remain on the payroll and be assigned to a school now under construction.

Deasy said he wants an investigation to determine whether the school is plagued by a ``culture of silence,'' which could have allowed the two teachers now under arrest -- both members of the staff for decades -- to carry out their alleged crimes with impunity.

``How is it conceivably possible that this could take place ... and (administrators) didn't know or say anything is what I'm trying to understand," he said.

UTLA charged today that the LAUSD had made an about-face on the issue of Miramonte's teachers -- an assertion that could not immediately be confirmed.

``District officials initially indicated that the staff could return, once the investigation was completed. Now LAUSD says that Miramonte staff will not be allowed to return, no matter the outcome of the investigation,'' said a union statement.

``It's clear that LAUSD does not have a plan,'' said UTLA President Warren Fletcher. ``LAUSD is making a tragic situation even worse and traumatizing the entire school unnecessarily. Parents want their teachers back.''

In a letter to LAUSD employees, Deasy said every class at Miramonte will be taught by a two-person team made up of an instructor and counselor ``to help students remain focused on learning and also offer immediate and ongoing support.'' He said counseling would be offered to current and former Miramonte students and their families, and that retired California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno would lead a commission to review school district practices and the events that occurred at the school.

The Los Angeles Board of Education has expressed support for Deasy's decision.

Berndt, who taught third grade, was arrested Jan. 30 for allegedly taking photos of students who were blindfolded, had tape over their mouths and spoons of his semen held to their lips. He had taught at the school for 30 years.

Berndt was removed from the school campus early last year when the allegations arose, and he retired before his termination by the district was finalized. Charged with abusing 23 children between 2005 and 2011, he is being held in lieu of $23 million -- $1 million per alleged victim -- and is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 21 at the Metropolitan Branch Courthouse.

On Friday, Springer was arrested, with bail set at $300,000. Springer, who was at the school for about 25 years, was charged Tuesday with three counts of committing a lewd act on a child involving one student.

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to fire Springer, who will have 30 days to appeal the decision. The board on Monday also fired Hamilton High School music teacher Vance Miller, 50, who was accused by two former students of having had sex with them. Miller was never charged.

The state Commission on Teacher Credentialing has suspended Springer's teaching credential. Berndt's credential was suspended Jan. 31 after charges were filed against him.