The Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District has taken an unprecedented step to fight the shocking child sex abuse claims at one of his schools: He got rid of the entire staff.
On Monday night, Superintendent John Deasy told parents of Miramonte Elementary School that effective immediately, everyone who worked at the school would be reassigned to other schools. Deasy said it was for two reasons: to ensure the safety of all the students and to help everyone heal.
Just last week, a former Miramonte teacher, Mark Berndt, was charged with 23 felony counts of lewd acts with children. A few days later, 2nd grade teacher Martin Springer was charged on similar counts. The details of the abuse claims are shocking: Police say 400 photos show elementary school students blindfolded and gagged.
Read more: Cops: Teacher took 'bondage' pics of students
In addition to the reassignments for the Miramonte faculty, LAUSD said it will launch an independent investigation to find out what happened, who was involved, and who, if anyone, knew and kept quiet.
In the meantime, parental reaction to the drastic measure has been mixed. Some parents who protested at Monday night’s meeting said it was a necessary step, while others didn’t think it solved the actual problem.
Regardless, in a letter, Superintendent Deasy reiterated the need for his decision, saying, "Some might see this as an extreme measure, but this is an extreme circumstance."
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