School
Board to Consider New Child Abuse Policy, Personnel Changes
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By Jorge Casuso
June 24 -- In the wake of molestation charges against
a teacher that rocked the School District, the Board of Education
Thursday will consider several key personnel changes and a new policy
that overhauls its child abuse reporting procedures.
Among the 16 personnel changes the board will consider will be
the transfer of Principal Tristan Komlos from her position at Lincoln
Middle School, where teacher Arthur Beltran has been charged with
molesting eight female students in a string of alleged crimes that
dates back to 2000. ("Santa
Monica Teacher Faces Additional Molestation Charges," June
6)
If the move is approved, Komlos would become principal of John
Muir Elementary School. The board also will consider moving Assistant
Principal Francis Costanzo to a district position that deals with
the special education program.
Costanzo was contacted in 2006 by the parent of an eighth grader
who claimed Beltran touched her in a way that made her uncomfortable.
Costanzo forwarded the information to former principal Kathy Scott,
who turned it over to police.
Investigators, however, determined that there was insufficient
evidence to initiate criminal action. ("Student
Complained of Molestation More than Two Years Ago," May 8)
“The reporting is going to be more solid,” said School
Board President Oscar de la Torre. The board will revisit “how
we put things in employees’ files, how we track info, how
we engage law enforcement.
“We want to fine tune that process and do a lot more in building
awareness and training,” de la Torre said.
The new policy the board will consider Thursday was crafted by
staff over the past month with input from a task force of parents.
While the board will consider the transfer of Lincoln’s two
top administrators, the moves have not yet been approved, de la
Torre said.
“It’s on the agenda, there was discussion, but things
can change,” he said.
An article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times last
week led to the misconception that the transfers were a done deal.
Although de la Torre confirmed that a group of parents sent a letter
to the district expressing a vote of no confidence in the school's
current principal, as reported in the Times, it is unclear
if it expresses a widespread sentiment.
“There was definitely an organized effort, but all we saw
was a letter,” de la Torre said. “It doesn’t mean
it’s a lot of people, but we don’t know.”
Komlos would be Lincoln’s fourth principal in seven years
to leave the school in Santa Monica’s upscale north side.
In addition to addressing how best to prevent child molestation,
the board will look at the broader issues of sexual harassment among
students and bullying, de la Torre said.
“We’re going to look at the whole thing, at all the
ways young people cannot feel comfortable in school,” de la
Torre said, adding that the goal is to make schools “more
inviting, safer and more pleasant.”
In addition to considering 16 staff changes – eight transfers
and eight administrative changes at school sites – the board
on Thursday will vote to hire a public communications consultant,
a post that has not been filled in recent years.
The board on Tuesday and Wednesday also will interview five candidates
to replace outgoing Superintendent Dianne Talarico, who has left
the District to head the Burlingame School District in Northern
California. ("Superintendent
Talarico to Join Burlingame School District," May 30)
The board expects to pick an interim superintendent by the end
of the month, de la Torre said.
“Right now we have a team running the district with close
monitoring by the School Board,” he said.
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