SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Dozen Parents Seek Return of Teacher

About a dozen parents asked Capistrano Unified School District trustees this week to allow Capistrano Valley High School teacher John Peloza to return to his biology class.

Peloza, a born-again Christian accused by district officials of teaching creationism in his classroom, was reassigned last week to teach physical education.

The move came two weeks after his lawsuit against the district was thrown out of court. Peloza contended that the district abridged his First Amendment rights by forcing him to teach what he calls the “religion” of evolution.

Some of the parents who had children enrolled in Peloza’s biology classes complained that the reassignment has caused havoc with class schedules.

“My daughter had to have three classes switched,” said parent Linda Teichmann. “I feel it’s unfair. I’d like to see (Peloza) put back into the biology classes. If the district was going to make a change like this, they should have done it in the summer so it doesn’t disrupt all these kids in the middle of the year.”

Board President Crystal Kochendorfer did not directly respond to the group’s comments but indicated that the board backed the decision to reassign Peloza.

“It’s a personnel matter and still involves litigation,” Kochendorfer said. “It would be inappropriate for the board to comment. However, the administration has our support in this decision.”