A somewhat bizarre petition has been created to bring former Loma Vista Principal Lauri James back to the school after she was transferred to a district office position last week. The online petition is looking for a 1,000 signatures and currently at 22-signatures at the time of publication of this article.
I not support this petition nor do I encourage anyone to sign it as it sends a poor message to schools who fail to report potential child abuse incidents in a timely manner.
If you recall, Brentwood Union School District Interim Superintendent Doug Adams placed James on administrative leave after a May 16 incident where she failed to report an incident in a timely manner and was investigating whether or not she followed proper protocols. The teacher was cleared of the charges, but James did fail to report the incident in a timely manner.
The failure to report came months after the District was sued and proper training occurred after the law suit. In the incident last year, she took very little responsibility during her deposition which also resulted in the firing of then Superintendent Merrill Grant. Here is a timeline we created back in January regarding the incident.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that if Ms. James was transferred from the principal position at Loma Vista to a district position… something was discovered during the investigation that they have not released in order to call for the transfer. They are calling it a “personnel matter”. Sure, this is speculator, but if they found nothing wrong, there would be no need for the district issued transfer which likely saved her job.
The reality of the situation is this was a terrible decision by the Board to continue to employee Ms. James in any capacity after the nearly $1 million settlement where she was in charge of the school where the incident occurred. Now there is a second incident where they still continue to employee her is a slap in the face of all Brentwood residents.
My question to petition creator Courtney Silva is why the petition only for Lauri James and why not do the same for Dina Holder and Merrill Grant?
The fact that parents would support a petition such as this after two incidents is disturbing and in my eyes Brentwood deserves better at Loma Vista Elementary School and within its school board.
This petition shows poor taste while demonstrating a naive behavior towards the seriousness of the incidents that transpired.
By Michael Burkholder
[email protected]
12 comments
Thank you for an honest article. Anyone who signs this petition needs their head checked or needs a reality check. By signing it, one is saying abuse is okay.
Not that I disagree with you on this issue, but I must ask the question, when you make the following statement:
” in our eyes ”
Who are you speaking for? I respect your website as a worthy news source and like how you present facts in many cases as facts like a news source should to be respected and valued. Occasionally you present, like now, a piece that appears to be news with a mix of editorial opinion.
I would like to urge you to protect the value and credibility of your “news” site and to isolate your opinions as editorial content from the actual news that you provide. I think it would go a long way to further the good work you are doing.
Thanks
Doug Knowles
thank you for pointing that out an omission. Give me a second to add my byline as this was an opinion piece under my own name.
I think in all it is a sad state of affairs. I know anyone who remains in a district for over 30 years has to have people who love them. But the clear message in moving her is that something is not working anymore and a change needed to be made. Whether you agree with all or some of the decisions that were made, we as the general public do not know everything, and will not know everything. That is why there is a chain of command. The district needs some time to heal, come back together and start fresh.
If parents like this won’t hold a principal accountable for her actions do you expect the school board to fire her? No way! Brentwood gets what they deserve. I bet if it happens to their kid, their perspectives will change.
Really hopping Dana Eaton does not let the BUSD down! Brentwood needs him to fix this mess.
Bizarre is the word of the day. These parents should have come together and organized four weeks ago, a day late and a dollar short. They can’t get a cohesive thought together and clearly express their opinions and justification for keeping her, except she hosts a great Halloween parade. Interestingly enough, none of the special needs parents I know have stepped up in support of her.
Let it go, she’s gone, we’re getting a new principal who will protect all of our children! change like this is scary for some, but IMHO there is no chance of bringing her back. Let’s embrace out new principal! Let’s move it along, nothing to see here.
I appreciate the honesty of Mr. Burkholder this piece and calling it for what it is. Will it hurt peopels feelings? Yes. But some things just need to be said even when people do not like it. Anyone supporting Ms. James at this point should think long and hard because two incidents in a row she failed to report. Some, not all, of Ms. James have been extreme. What I mean by this is rude, threanening and just plain mean in her defense. I am glad Mr. Burkholder has the guts to stand on an opinion and put his name behind it unlike other cowards who hide behind a fake name. I am loving this site more and more each day and am glad someone sent it to me a few weeks ago.
Kudos to Mary!!! And Mr. Birkholder! I stand tall with you. Bullies will try to push us around and tell us we are wrong. Who are they???? Just silly! If you have had a personal interaction with this nut principal you KNOW the truth!
I think the problem is that many people will just sign a petition without reading it. Protect the kids.
There is so much ignorance in these comments to believe that what you have read, heard, listen to from news & social media is the WHOLE story. Thank you to so many who have taken the high road & not commented back. Keep strong Loma Vista parents, staff, students, and stop reading remarks from people who have not walked in your shoes but they are sure quick to judge!
I find it ignorant that someone would actually post a comment that claims to”know the whole story”. So unless you have walked in everyone else’s shoes, don’t feel that other’s who feel or have experienced otherwise have walked a lesser path. Don’t be so quick to judge.
Signing the petition does not say that abuse is ok by any means and it is a disrespect to all the parents that signed it. Agreeing with the article is one thing, but disrespecting parents who signed it is a disgrace.
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