The Region - News from Aug. 15, 1985

The president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles charged that the school district was trying to shift blame to the union when it cited tenure regulations as a reason why an accused child molester was allowed to continue teaching for more than a year after students and parents had made allegations against him. “The district’s hit on tenure and UTLA is a red herring, a tempest in a teapot, a way to take the heat off themselves,” said Wayne Johnson, the union leader. District officials have speculated that administrators may have taken so long in calling police in the case of Terry Bartholome, 48, because they had been “conditioned” to document all charges against a teacher in order to conform to tightly written tenure laws. Bartholome has been charged with one count of rape and 26 counts of child molestation.