Simi Board Relieves Schools Chief of His Duties

Five months after he took the helm of Simi Valley’s quarrelsome school district, Supt. Tate Parker has been placed on administrative leave by district trustees.

Parker was relieved of his duties after a closed-session meeting of the district’s board Wednesday night.

On Thursday, board President Norm Walker would not say why Parker was placed on leave.

“The board action was in the best interests of the district and, beyond that, I can’t comment,” he said.

Under state law, the district is not obligated to discuss personnel decisions. “It’s ongoing and confidential,” Walker said.

Other trustees also refused to comment, as did teachers’ union officials.

Walker declined to speculate on how long the leave might last.

Deputy Supt. Susan Parks, a veteran administrator about to leave the district for a job in Baldwin Park, will fill in temporarily.

Next week, trustees will meet in closed session to discuss hunting for an interim superintendent, Walker said.

“We will be looking at all our options,” he said.

Parker could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The move throws back into turmoil a district administration that has endured a year of personnel changes. A year ago, longtime Supt. Mary Beth Wolford quit abruptly after trustees rejected her in-house choice to fill an administrative vacancy.

Robert Purvis, who preceded Wolford as the district’s chief, then returned to the post on a temporary basis while the district hunted for a permanent replacement.

That search ended in November when Parker, then chief of schools in Murrieta, accepted an offer to lead Simi Valley’s schools. He started in January.

Parker may have come to the job with one mark against him--he wasn’t chosen by the present board. With two trustees up for reelection in the fall and a third stepping down from the board, seven school board candidates signed a letter asking that the district not pick a new chief administrator before the election.

“We warned them in September not to pick a new superintendent until the new board sat down,” former candidate Nan Mostacciuolo said Thursday.

The letter warned that any superintendent chosen before the election might not receive unanimous support from new board members. Two of the candidates who signed the letter now sit on the five-member board.

Whatever the cause, Parker’s suspension comes in the midst of a tough time for the district.

Last week, a jury ruled that the district must pay $1.9 million to a young Simi Valley woman injured while crossing a street to get to school in 1989.

Also, two teachers recently were put on administrative leave for improper conduct toward students, according to a May 29 district memo. No other details of the incidents were available Thursday.

But several Simi Valley parents said Thursday that Parker seemed like the kind of superintendent who could handle such problems.

Judy Slattery had met with Parker to discuss the needs of special education students. She once dropped by his office, without an appointment, and was impressed that he took the time to talk with her. She said her impression was of someone willing to listen to parents and act on their concerns.

“He was stirring the pudding,” she said, “and that’s something that needs to be done.”

Parent Sue Seyster worried about what Parker’s leave would mean for the district.

“I see him as an overall good administrator,” she said. “I see him as someone trying to pull the district together.”

Parker was hired at a salary of $108,000 annually. His contract runs through June 2000.

Times staff writer Kate Folmar contributed to this story.