Newport-Mesa’s principal problem concerns parents

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- With children returning to classes in less than a

month, four schools are still without principals.

Of six positions vacated this spring and summer, only two have been

filled.

Supt. Robert Barbot said he expects a seventh principal to depart

soon, but would not disclose which school would lose its top leader.

Costa Mesa and Newport Harbor high schools, Ensign Intermediate and

Mariners Elementary School remain without a principal.

The situation is one that has many parents, especially those in the

Newport Beach area, upset and distressed.

“I do not believe the only reason people leave is money,” said Graham

Tingler, a Mariners parent. “If it was, we wouldn’t have these wonderful

teachers who have been here for 20 and 30 years.”

While he did not profess to know what each principal’s incentive was

for leaving, Tingler said his business experience has taught him that if

a person is getting the respect, recognition and support that he or she

deserves, more money elsewhere will not lure them away.

Whatever reasons behind the vacancies, parents are left with yet

another worry: how those positions will be filled.

“I’m very concerned with how we’re suddenly going to find four

high-caliber principals,” Tingler said. “It’s going to be very difficult

to replace Mary Ann [Ehret, principal of Mariners] because of the

high-caliber person that she was. It’s a huge loss to the district.”

District officials said they hope to have three of the posts filled by

next week, but that any delay is because of a desire to find the best

possible candidates.

“It’s not that we don’t have candidates,” Barbot said. “It’s that we

want to make sure we have the best possible match.”

District promises that all will be well have been heard before, some

parents say.

“We’ve been hearing ‘next week’ since the end of June,” said Barbara

Yeager, a frustrated parent at Newport Harbor High.

Yeager said she has faith in Barbot, but that the parent community at

Newport Harbor is aggravated by the delays.

“We are frustrated with the district because the interviews were held

so late in spite of the fact that they knew Bob Boies was leaving,” she

said.

“The entire process has been delayed and we apparently lost good

candidates because of it.”

Barbot said there are reasons behind the delays.

Although the district could not act until their departures became

official, Barbot said it has been known for some time that Andy Hernandez

intended to step down at Costa Mesa High and Allan Mucerino planned for

some time to leave Ensign Intermediate. The district has been preparing

for their departures, Barbot said.

“We haven’t been able to move forward quickly because we knew people

were exploring other options [and] we needed to let them see that

through,” he said.

District officials hope to have principals in place at Costa Mesa,

Mariners and Newport Harbor by next week, but Ensign may have a temporary

principal while a nationwide search is conducted for a successor, said

Jaime Castellanos, assistant superintendent of secondary education.

“We’re looking to open it up to the outside, but at this time of year

we won’t get the quality applicants we’re looking for,” Castellanos said.

For that reason, district officials think the best option may be a

temporary one for now.

“We have a number of candidates who have applied over last month,”

Barbot said. “We’re reviewing their files intensely, but we may want to

let the world know we have an opening at a middle school. We will

probably want to advertise nationally so we can find the strongest

applicant.”

Unconvinced that all is well, however, several parents from Mariners

and Ensign have said they plan to approach the district about what they

think is a growing community concern.