Troubled Miramonte Elementary school reopens to a bedlam of protests

The Los Angeles Unified School District braced for protests from parents, students and staff as it reopened the Miramonte Elementary School campus after two teachers were arrested for lewd acts last week.

Students will have brand new teachers starting today. The second-largest public school district closed the school on Tuesday and fired its entire staff after two teachers were arrested on charges of lewd conduct against children under 14 last week. The new faculty has been pooled from an LAUSD rehire list.

The children returned to school today under the watch of school police as about 100 people protested the removal of the existing staff and the subsequent disruption of the children’s sense of continuity.

The charges against the two teachers who were arrested are very serious, to be sure, but the school district’s decision to respond to the crisis by firing its entire teaching staff is bizarre – not to mention unjust to the multitude of good, dedicated and loving teachers, some of whom put in decades in at the school. The decision also does not make sense from a pedagogical – not to mention fiscal – standpoint. Does the district believe for a minute that the forced exodus makes the school environment safer? How do the parents know for a fact that the new hires do not harbor the kind of despicable fantasy life exemplified by Mark Berndt?

The dismissal and closure will cost the district $5.7 million. The cash-strapped district, which will continue to pay the removed teachers through the end of the year, cannot be said to have made a frugal and wise decision. That cost will have to be absorbed by the rest of the schools within LAUSD and affect numerous quality programs.

In order to placate parents, the district invited parents to stay for the first thirty minutes of class today – as if that is supposed to assuage their fears. Many of the protesting parents outside held signs that reflected the anger they feel: “Give us our teachers back” and “LAUSD Shame on you” read a few signs.

"It's kind of hard," said Lorena Sorian, whose sixth-grader attends the school. "You barely know your teacher, and they're gone. The kids don't know what's going on." But she wonders whether she should send her younger children to Miramonte next fall in light of the unfolding scandals.

LAUSD, meanwhile, is trying to do damage control to a situation which its spokesperson described as “devastating.” It will conduct an independent investigation into the two cases led by retired California Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Moreno. The investigation will include interviews with former students and staff members of the school.

The devastation began early last week when mark Brandt, 61, was arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts on children. A film processor alerted authorities when he provided them with 40 images from Berndt’s camera which showed children in various shocking scenarios, including being gagged, having large cockroaches on their faces, and holding spoons with what turned out to be Berndt’s semen. The children were made to drink the semen through a game Berndt called “the taste test.”

Then, later last week, Martin Springer, 49, was arrested on charges that he fondled three girls. One of the girls has since recanted her story; the other two charges remain.

Both teachers have been fired. Berndt is being held in lieu of a $2.3 million bail. Springer has pled not guilty to the charges and must wear an ankle monitoring device if released. He is also ordered to stay 100 yards away from victims and witnesses, and 250 yards from parks and schools. He cannot be in the presence of minors without a supervising adult.

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