Dr. Peters and School Squabble

Re: Huntington Beach City School District: We hesitate to continue debating the morale problems of the Huntington Beach Elementary teachers through the media, but it is necessary to respond to the letters recently published in your newspaper.

During Dr. Diana Peters’ 2-year reign as superintendent in Huntington Beach City School District, several awards have been received. Even though Dr. Peters likes to take credit for these awards, they were earned by the hard work and dedication of teachers, site administrators, students and support personnel who were working toward excellence long before Dr. Peters arrived on the scene.

The teachers reluctantly accepted a 2-year settlement recommended by a fact-finder. However, many things had changed in the financial picture since the facts were presented by the district in June, 1988. The projected 1% reserve in June had ballooned to almost five times that amount by September. We were forced to accept a settlement based on erroneous and outdated information.

We are puzzled as to why Bobbitt Williams, a close friend of Dr. Peters’ who has no children in our schools; Peter G. Mehas, who has probably never been to Huntington Beach, and Tom Steele, a Fountain Valley resident, would bother to embroil themselves in our controversy.

No matter how many people Dr. Peters may solicit for her cause, the fact remains that 85% of all the teachers in Huntington Beach city schools voted by secret ballot that they no longer have confidence in the leadership of either Dr. Peters or the board of trustees.

CAROL E. AUTREY

President, Huntington Beach Elementary Teachers Assn.