HUNTINGTON BEACH : Chamber Questions School Supt. Ouster

Expressing “shock and sadness” over the resignation of Huntington Beach City School District Supt. Diana Peters, the city’s Chamber of Commerce has asked the district’s school board members to fully explain why they wanted Peters to leave.

Peters’ resignation was tersely announced by the school board on July 25. The board said it was paying Peters $126,952 in exchange for her resignation from a contract that did not expire until June, 1993. Board President Sherry Barlow said the resignation represented “an amicable resolution of philosophical differences between the board and the superintendent.”

Barlow and other board members declined to elaborate, saying that the resignation agreement prohibited both them and Peters from publicly discussing the issue.

Chamber of Commerce president Art Aviles, in a July 30 letter to Barlow, said the chamber’s board has “serious concerns over the (school) board’s actions.”

Aviles asked Barlow to inform the chamber why “philosophical differences” occurred between the board and superintendent only months after the board had extended her contract and given her a glowing review.

Some teachers and parents in the school district claim that the teachers’ union put pressure on the school board to oust Peters. Leaders of the union blame Peters for labor tensions in the district in recent years.

Teachers, who have twice taken a “no confidence” vote against Peters, have charged that she was more interested in promoting her own image, including within the Chamber of Commerce, than she was in helping school employees. Supporters of Peters, however, said that Peters worked with the business community solely to get more funds and support for the schools.