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Miramonte Sex Abuse Scandal: UTLA Reacts To Removal Of Entire Staff

Karla Robinson, Reut Cohen |
February 9, 2012 | 8:52 a.m. PST

Staff Reporters

Following sex abuse allegations at a Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school, Miramonte Elementary School, the entire staff was removed while the LAUSD said it would investigate allegations of lewd conduct.

UTLA President Warren Fletcher (Karla Robinson)
UTLA President Warren Fletcher (Karla Robinson)
"The removal of 85 teachers from this school without investigation was nothing more than a cheap media stunt," said United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) president Warren Fletcher at a press conference Thursday.

Fletcher attributed the "tragedy at this school" to a failure of supervision, stating that the "school has one principal and zero assistant principals on its staff" to oversee the school properly. "I stand with the parents of this community saying we demand the district to stop playing political games with the children of this school," said Fletcher.

Many parents and students, who protested at the school earlier today, agreed that removing the entire staff was the wrong decision.

"We don't like the drastic change. They removed all the teachers... I think it's unfair," said Nelly Rodriguez, who kept her son, David, out of his 6th grade class today. "It's close to the end of the school year [and] I don't think it was a good idea."

Angelica Perez, a sixth grade student, also didn't attend class Thursday. "We want our teachers back and I'm not going to go to school until she's back," she said. 

Beginning Thursday, Miramonte's staff members were replaced.

"It's the most severe action I've seen taken by a school district," Terri Miller, president of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, an advocacy organization based in Las Vegas, told Fox News.



 

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