Yorba Linda : Parents to Ask School Board to Keep Principal

Parents protesting the transfer of John Best, principal of Rose Drive Elementary School, plan to present their grievances at Thursday’s school board meeting.

Best is scheduled to become principal of Mabel Paine Elementary in Yorba Linda next fall, and the principal of Mabel Paine School, Audell Jackson, is to take over at Rose Drive Elementary.

Mary Ellen Blanton, superintendent of the Yorba Linda School District, said, “It’s routine for school districts in Orange County to rotate principals after about five or six years. Mr. Best has been at Rose Drive School for eight years. This move has been long planned and long thought out.”

About 100 parents at Rose Drive have signed petitions protesting the move, said parent Gabriella Rollins. A delegation of Rose Drive School parents will be at the school board meeting Thursday night, she said.

“Our motto is ‘Keep the Best,’ ” Rollins said.

Best “has maintained good morale among the staff, and he’s very visible in the school. He knows the children by name,” she said. “Our CAP (California Assessment Program) scores at the school having been going up under his leadership. He’s a good principal, and we don’t want to lose him.”

Blanton said that the school board will hear the parents but that she doubts plans will change.

“I think it’s nice that they like Mr. Best and and would like him to stay, but this is a positive move, and the decision was made after a great deal of thought by our school board.”