L.A. school faculty to be removed amid probe

LOS ANGELES – The entire faculty at an elementary school where two teachers were arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct will be removed while the school district investigates, the Los Angeles school superintendent told parents Monday.

Superintendent John Deasy told parents and media on Monday night that the Miramonte Elementary School staffers are being replaced because a full investigation of allegations is disruptive and staffers require support to get through the scandal, too.

An entire staff has been trained to come into classrooms at Miramonte to take over teaching for the time being, and there will be a psychiatric social worker in every classroom to help students and staff cope with any issues.

“The last thing I’m worried about is a budget issue,” Deasy said.

“The No. 1 thing I’m worried about is the students.”

School officials canceled classes at the school today and Wednesday as a cooling-off period, said district spokesman Tom Waldman.

Deasy emphasized that all staff members being brought into the classroom went through a “very rigorous screening process.”

Maria Jimenez, 51, said the parents whose children are enrolled at Miramonte are divided over the move.

“Some are in favor. Others are against it because they did this without advising us or consulting us,” Jimenez said.

The move follows the arrest of two Miramonte teachers: Mark Berndt was charged last week with committing lewd acts on 23 children, while Martin Springer was arrested Friday on suspicion of fondling two girls in his classroom.

More than a quarter of the students at Miramonte were absent from school Monday while parents demanded more protection at the school, with attendance reaching just 72 percent, according to figures from the Los Angeles Unified School District.

About three dozen parents and supporters protested in front of the main doors of the school earlier Monday, some carrying a banner that read, “We the parents demand our children be protected from lewd teacher acts.”