1,000 March to Protest Principal Swap : 3 Students Speak to Nicoll but He Refuses to Budge

Nearly 1,000 students from Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools boycotted classes in Newport Beach on Tuesday and marched to the school district’s headquarters in a noisy but peaceful protest over the switching of their principals.

The students protested for about three hours in front of Newport-Mesa Unified School District headquarters at 1601 16th St. in Newport Beach. They chanted that they wanted to meet with district Supt. John Nicoll, who invited three students inside to talk with him but declined to go outside.

Some of the students carried signs, one of which read, “Let our voices be heard.”

The protest stemmed from Nicoll’s decision to swap Newport Harbor Principal Tom Jacobson and Corona del Mar Principal Dennis Evans, starting July 1. The school board last week voted 7 to 0 in favor of the swap, despite the protests of about 350 parents, students and teachers at the board meeting.

Nicoll has said that he recommended the switch of principals because “this change will be good for both men and both schools . . . it is simply a lateral transfer.” After the student demonstration Tuesday, Nicoll said he will not change his mind.

Both Have Protested

Both principals, however, have said repeatedly that they do not want to exchange jobs. Moreover, students, teachers and parents at both schools contend that there is no good reason for making the change. And opponents, angered by the school board’s vote, announced a recall movement last week.

But on Tuesday, parents and community leaders from both high schools met and decided to pursue negotiations with the school board rather than seek a recall. James P. Warmington, a Newport Harbor High parent, acted as spokesman for the group.

In a prepared statement, Warmington said: “It is our intent to reopen communications with the board in hopes that this swap will not take place. In addition, we have several other concerns that we would like to bring to the board’s attention.

“We feel that new information has surfaced, and that this information, coupled with the information that was presented to the board at last week’s meeting, indicates that a more active dialogue between the school board members and concerned parents is appropriate. . . . Therefore, we are not proceeding with a recall at this time.”

Warmington did not elaborate about that new information.

Brian Theriot, a member of the parents’ group, said the students’ plans to demonstrate came as a surprise and that no adults had encouraged the protest.

“Personally, I think the students could learn more about the effects of this bad decision to swap the principals by staying in their classrooms and discussing it there,” Theriot said on Monday night, when he first learned of the students’ plans.

Students told reporters that the idea to boycott classes originated Monday at Newport Harbor High, and that those students contacted students at Corona del Mar. Both agreed that demonstrations would begin at the mid-morning nutrition break.

“We don’t like the way this (swap of principals) was done, without any reason,” said Randy Farr, 18, a Newport Harbor High senior who took a leadership role in Tuesday’s protests. “If there’s a reason for this, we want to hear it.”

At 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, when the hundreds of Newport Harbor High students came outdoors for their regular snack break, the demonstration began.

Students raised fists and began a series of chants, including, “Hell no, Jake (Jacobson) won’t go.”

After about 15 minutes, the students decided to march from the high school to school district headquarters about half a block away. One boy climbed a tall metal flagpole in front of the building and released the California state flag as students cheered. There were no other incidents.

A Cheer for Corona del Mar

Most of the students outside the school district headquarters were from Newport Harbor. But at about 11 a.m., about 150 Corona del Mar High students arrived. Newport Harbor students loudly cheered the arrivals from their normally archrival high school. “Here come lots of people from Corona del Mar, and I love it,” Farr said.

Steve Rocco, 18, a senior from Newport Harbor High, looked bemused. “I’ve never heard us give cheers for Corona del Mar before,” he said.

Nate Shaw, 18, also a Newport Harbor High senior, said: “In the four years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen anything off the normal stuff. This is real.”

Corona del Mar Principal Evans came to the district headquarters about noon and walked among the student demonstrators.

“The superintendent called and asked that I come here because some of our (Corona del Mar students) were here,” Evans said.

“I’m just counseling our kids to keep it on the same level they did on our campus this morning, which was very responsible. They wanted to express themselves, and on our campus they did it very eloquently, and for the most part they went back to class.”

Evans estimated that about 500 of the 1,850 students at Corona del Mar took part in the morning demonstration at that high school. About 1,300 of the 1,600 students at Newport Harbor High participated in the outdoor demonstration at that school.

Principal Jacobson of Newport Harbor High later joined Evans, and the two men talked in the parking lot as the protesters watched. Both principals talked to students from time to time, urging them to return to classes.

Newport Beach police on motorcycles, in cruisers and on foot watched the activities but took no action. The students played music from tape decks in their cars and vans and sat on the parking lot or nearby grass. By about 2 p.m., most of the students had left.

Nicoll met with Newport Harbor High students Farr, Chase Warmington, 17, a junior, and Greg Denney, 18, a senior. Afterward, Farr told the mass of student protesters that Nicoll would not be coming out.

“We’ve done all we can do,” Farr said. “We’re dealing with someone who won’t listen.” Farr then urged the students to return to classes, but the students booed loudly. Shortly afterward, however, students started drifting away from the protest site. The crowd thinned to about only 100 by noon.

After the demonstration, Nicoll said: “I don’t believe you can have dialogue with 300 or 400 students, so I invited three inside to talk. I believe in representative government. I repeated to the students that I believe each principal will bring to his new position sets of skills and strengths that will be helpful to the high schools.”

Nicoll said that any penalties against students for missing classes would be up to the principals and teachers at their schools. Both principals said they would consider any reprimands on a case-by-case basis.

“I have nothing but commendation for the way the two principals handled the situation today,” Nicoll said.

Nicoll said he considers the swap of principals now a matter that has been settled, and he said he would not reconsider. “The transfer is not an iffy thing,” Nicoll said. “The transfer will take place.”