New Principal at South Gate School
City Times published an article on the selection of the principal at South Gate Middle School (“Dispute Erupts Over Choice of Principal,” Jan. 23). It is important for me to set the record straight.
1. The reporter called me Jan. 13 with the premise that she was doing an article to profile the new principal, Tony Sandoval. Obviously the article was not a profile of the new principal and in fact contained little or no information on the qualities and/or experiences of Mr. Tony Sandoval.
2. The article refers to the school district being forced to assign Mr. Sandoval within a 48-hour period. This is not the case. I recommended Mr. Tony Sandoval for the principalship of South Gate Middle School and also recommended he be assigned as of Jan. 3, with the beginning of the new semester. Neither I nor the district was forced.
3. The article states that I said Mr. Henry Torres could not be considered for the principalship because of district policy. I did not state this. There is no such district policy. I did say that it was my judgment not to recommend any assistant principals, at any of the three schools with principal openings, to be acting principal. I further stated that my non-recommendation of the present assistant principals was not due to a lack of confidence in the abilities of those assistant principals.
4. The article states, “Liechty agreed Sandoval’s appointment was a ‘bad judgment call.’ ” I did not say this! I am the individual who recommended Mr. Sandoval and I am confident Mr. Sandoval will provide outstanding leadership that will serve the South Gate students, staff, parents and community well.
It appears to me that the focus of this article never intended to profile an outstanding individual, but in fact was written to support those individuals who wanted another individual assigned to the school.
I fully respect those who have different opinions, but I believe the Los Angeles Times has an obligation to be fair and honest.
JOHN H. LIECHTY
Director, Middle Schools Unit
L.A. Unified School District
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