Santa Monica parents have expressed a vote of “no confidence” in Lincoln Middle School Principal Tristan Komlos.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The principal and vice principal of Lincoln Middle School could be reassigned from their jobs on Thursday. The Board of Education will consider a recommendation at its meeting on Thursday by Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School district staff to transfer principal Tristan Komlos and assistant principal Francis Costanzo to other positions within the district.
The recommendation comes in the wake of last month’s arrest of Lincoln teacher Thomas Arthur Beltran for alleged sexual molestation. The teacher, who had been at the school for more than three decades, has been charged with 23 felony counts of allegedly molesting eight girls under the age of 14.
The proposal has Komlos being reassigned to the principal position at John Muir Elementary School in Santa Monica and Costanzo becoming a “principal on special assignment.”
“We think it is in the best interest of the district, and I’ll leave it at that,” said Assistant Superintendent Mike Matthews regarding the possible reassignments.
The district had received a letter earlier this month from a group of Lincoln parents expressing a vote of no confidence in Komlos.
An article appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Saturday saying the transfers were a done deal. But district officials say the decision will not be made until Thursday.
“The L.A. Times might have to apologize to its readership,” said Board of Education President Oscar de la Torre. “They got a hold of some information that was premature.”
Also on Thursday, the board will vote on a new policy for reporting alleged abuse at schools. After Beltran’s arrest, it was revealed that school officials and the Santa Monica Police Department had investigated the teacher in 2006 on a sexual abuse allegation, but, officials say, it was not reported to the district officials. A major feature of the new policy requires all allegations to be forwarded to the superintendent.
Additionally, the board could select an interim superintendent on Thursday. This week, five former superintendents are being interviewed by the board for the temporary post.
“[Whether somebody is hired] depends on the quality of the candidates,” de la Torre said. “If we find someone who is really good, then yes we will make a selection on Thursday. I hope we can.”
There had been some sentiment by some Santa Monica and education activists for former interim Malibu City Manager John Jalili (who was the city manager of Santa Monica for 15 years) to fill in the interim position at the district, despite his background not being of school district management. De la Torre said Jalili told him he would be interested in the position if the district were unable to find a good fit from the five candidates being interviewed this week.
“I think he is a smart man,” de la Torre said. “I’m glad that he is willing to take the role.”
The interim superintendent will be taking the place of Dianne Talarico, who left the district after last week’s high school graduations to take a position at the head of a district in the Bay Area, where her husband lives. At a meeting earlier this month, the board discussed its plan for hiring a permanent superintendent. The plan is for the issuance next month of request for proposal notices to search firms. By September, the firm would be selected. The superintendent would be selected by March 1.
Also on Thursday, the board will vote on the 2008-09 Fiscal Year budget. The meeting will take place at the District Office, located at 1651 16 St. in Santa Monica. It is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. To access the agenda, go to www.smmusd.org. Click “Board Meetings” on the upper left of the page and then select the June 26 agenda.