The Manhattan Beach Unified School District board decided to halt, at least temporarily, Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews’s direction to rotate four principals Tuesday night after an outcry from parents and teachers.
They agreed to revisit the topic at the board meeting on July 13.
The decision capped off an evening during which the husband of Board Member Christine Cronin-Hurst, Mark Hurst, called for the resignation of School Board President Ellen Rosenberg and Matthews, accusing them of bullying.
“When Mike informed Christine of his decision [to move the principals], she warned him that people would be unhappy,” said Hurst. “Now Ellen and Mike are trying to shame my wife with censure. They each should be embarrassed. Ellen, I call for your resignation, and Mike’s as well.”
Cronin-Hurst, who wasn’t present at the closed session meeting earlier this month evaluating Matthews’s performance during which the rotation was discussed, filed a complaint with the Los Angeles County District Attorney accusing the board and Matthews of violating the Brown Act and of planning to censure her for “whistleblowing.”
Matthews and Rosenberg maintained that there had been no such violation.
In a letter to parents announcing the move, Matthews said that he thought the “optimal window” of time for a principal at one school was between five and eight years. At Tuesday night’s meeting, he said the four principals, Kim Linz of Pacific Elementary School, John Jackson of Manhattan Beach Middle School, Rhonda Steinberg of Grand View Elementary School and Nancy Doyle of Robinson Elementary School, had held their positions from 11 to 16 years.
Matthews apologized for the timing of his direction, which had been criticized for coming eight days before the end of the school year and while the district was preparing to ask voters to approve a $150 million bond in the fall election, but said he still thought the move was in the best interest of the school district.
“I could’ve done it better timing-wise,” said Matthews. “I apologize for that. In the long term, I still believe — it was a hard decision, but I believe it was the right decision. For those who wish for transparency, these things I talk about with each principal are private and personnel matters. The board can make its own decision, but I believe it would benefit the whole making these moves.”
The board discussed holding off on moving the principals while acknowledging that Matthews had access to personnel files that they, by law, don’t.
Matthews ultimately recommended tabling the discussion.
“I do believe changes need to be made,” said Matthews. “I hear timing as being the main issue. For some, the answer is never, which I don’t believe is the appropriate answer. Timing presents me with some problems I can deal with. I recommend we table this at this point.”
The board unanimously voted to return to the topic in July, although their reasoning differed.
Cronin-Hurst suggested studying the proposal and getting community input for a year before making a decision. School Board Member Bill Fournell said he wouldn’t necessarily consider changing the move, but that it would give people time to adjust.
“I think we could consider holding off a year,” he said. “I don’t know if it would change anything. It would give everyone a chance to speak and understand the transition. I don’t think you’re going to get an in-depth discussion of each principal’s performance — that’s not acceptable.” ER
