McKenna Draws Fire, But Most of His School Staff Changes Get OK

The Inglewood school board Wednesday night approved all but three of the staffing changes proposed by Supt. George McKenna for the fall, although some of the appointments generated intense criticism from parents and community leaders.

Residents strongly criticized some of McKenna’s appointments of principals and assistant principals, arguing that the new superintendent shuffled some incompetent administrators from one school to another and took no significant steps to improve school leadership.

But McKenna, previously principal of Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, stood firm on his recommendations, and a majority of the five-member school board concurred. Only three personnel decisions were struck down out of several dozen that came before the board.

‘Killing Morale’

“If I cannot make the district function, you can with three votes find yourself another superintendent,” McKenna said. “I am confident that the candidates before us are the best possible, available, qualified candidates, and I will stand on those.”

Board member Zyra McCloud, who joined parents in opposing many of McKenna’s choices, told the new superintendent during one heated exchange: “I’m sick of this rhetoric. This is wrong, McKenna. . . . You’re killing the morale of this district.”

But board Vice President Joseph Rouzan urged his colleagues to adopt the recommendations so that the school year could begin smoothly.

Among the controversial recommendations were the transfers of Principal Gladys Phillips-Evans from Monroe Junior High School to Warren Lane Elementary School, Principal Lacy Alexander from Woodworth Elementary School to Monroe and Principal Ruby Nelson from Oak Street Elementary School to Woodworth.

Transfers Approved

Critics said the administrators, none of whom could be reached for comment, had not proved themselves in their current posts. But the school board approved all three transfers.

Joice Lewis, who works in special education for Los Angeles County, was rejected as the district’s director of pupil personnel services because board members said there were qualified people from within the district who should have received the job. Later in the meeting, McKenna called Lewis “eminently qualified” for the cabinet-level post and asked the board to reconsider, but his request was turned down.

The board also overturned McKenna’s recommendation to transfer two bilingual teachers, Salud Salinda and Maria Vega, out of Oak Street Elementary after a parent presented a petition protesting the move and two students spoke out against it.

The transfer was part of a dispute between several teachers and Nelson, the Oak Street principal, that began before McKenna arrived. Four teachers went on stress leave last year, charging that Nelson was a poor administrator who made their jobs unbearable. One group of parents sided with the teachers; another group sided with Nelson.

School officials say McKenna decided to transfer Nelson to the principal’s post at Woodworth and the two teachers to new assignments in other schools in order to defuse the situation.

Additional Moves

Other appointments approved Wednesday include: Art Murray, a high school principal in Bakersfield, to Morningside High School; Edward Brownlee, dean of students at Inglewood High School, to assistant principal of Morningside; Joe Steele, a teacher, to acting assistant principal of Morningside; Anthony Vega, a teacher, to dean of students at Inglewood; Marlene Felix, a teacher, to assistant principal of Monroe; Havon McLeod, assistant principal at La Tijera Elementary School, to Warren Lane; Gilman Gebo, acting assistant principal at Morningside, to assistant principal at La Tijera; and Jeraldine Martin, principal of Morningside, to assistant principal of adult education.

When McKenna took office last October, many school employees and community leaders said the real test of his strength would be his ability to evaluate the staff, some of whom have political connections to past board members or city leaders, and put together a team that can turn around the low morale and low test scores that have become synonymous with education in Inglewood.

Terry Coleman, the Inglewood PTA Council’s liaison to the school board, accused McKenna of “playing musical chairs” at the expense of 15,000 children.

“The honeymoon is over. . . . As much as I respect McKenna, he’s making a grave mistake,” Coleman said in an interview. “It’s a gray day for the children of Inglewood.”

Norma Smith, president of the PTA Council, said McKenna’s staffing choices disappointed her, but she is willing to give him more time before she passes final judgment.

“He’s still doing some casting,” Smith said. “This is a big play, and he’s still deciding who’s going to play the parts. I don’t believe in jumping on a person before they have a chance to try.”

Nationwide Praise

McKenna, whose efforts in inner-city education won him nationwide praise and a television movie on his leadership style, has faced such staffing controversies before. More than 100 teachers left Washington Prep while he was at the helm.

“I have no intention of failing,” McKenna said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I have no intention of abdicating. I will continue to go forward.”

He added: “I do not speak to you as a novice as to what it takes to be a principal.”

Under state law, a school district must notify administrators by Dec. 1 before beginning proceedings to demote or fire them in order to give them time to improve their performances. McKenna, who began as superintendent last Oct. 1, said he did not have adequate time to monitor school administrators before the deadline passed. He pledged to put all of Inglewood’s administrators on notice this year that their performance is being watched.

“George McKenna won tonight,” one school employee who did not want to be identified said after the meeting. “He got his picks in. But watch those appointments. If they fail, he fails.”

Community Meetings

McKenna also came under criticism for a series of community meetings he held this summer at several Inglewood schools in which he asked parents what qualities they wanted in a new school administrator. Critics are now calling those meetings an effort to pacify the community in anticipation of the current appointments.

“I was one of the main supporters who brought McKenna in,” McCloud said before the meeting. “If I made a mistake, I’m the first one to admit it to the parents. How can you call community forums, interview people and then transfer ineffective people around?”

Board President Larry Aubry said the district will suffer unless board members work together with the superintendent and staff.

“We are trying like hell to make this an exemplary district, but it takes one step at a time,” Aubry said. “We have to put a small amount of faith in each other.”