Harding Principal Forced on Leave

Despite overwhelming support from parents, teachers and former students, the Santa Barbara Elementary School District voted to put Harding School principal Marlyn Nicolas on administrative leave for the 2005-2006 school year and will not renew her contract in 2006-2007. The vote was 4-0, with board president Lynn Rodriguez, whose child goes to the school, abstaining.

The board did not specify whether the leave would be paid, but according to Nicolas’s husband Frank, it was his understanding that she would be paid for the remainder of her contract.

When asked to comment on the matter prior to the July 26 announcement, Rodriguez said, “Personnel matters and how the person’s performing is very confidential. But just in general, people may not be aware that principals are on a contract, year to year, that because they are paid a substantially higher salary than a teacher, they have higher levels of responsibility and accountability, and they have a pretty comprehensive job description. They have a lot on their plate that they are responsible for.”

According to that job description, an elementary principal’s major duties and responsibilities include: serving as administrative and instructional leader of the school; supervising and evaluating the instructional program; responsibility for the health, safety, welfare and morale of students and employees (during school hours); working with the district office regarding staffing, curriculum and budget; overseeing the physical facility; taking the lead in establishing and prioritizing school goals; designing and implementing parent involvement and education programs; and interpreting the school’s programs to the community served by the school.

Some parents and teachers expressed concerns that Nicolas was ousted because the school was having difficulty getting middle class white children in the neighborhood to attend.

Realtor Linda Havlick, a neighbor who volunteers at the school, said she was shocked at the decision and urged the board not to punish Nicolas for its own open enrollment policy.

Harding teacher Susie Kirkus, who’s been at the school for more than 30 years, said she was upset about the process, and that adequate investigation was not done into the workings of the school and that Superintendent Brian Sarvis only came to the school once at the beginning of the year.

“You would think you would spend a lot of time there if you have school you are very concerned about,” she said. “My main concern is about the truth. I would feel this way if any principal had gone through this.”

Parents, several of whom spoke in support of Nicolas during public comment, may not be taking the loss of their principal sitting down. Immediately after the announcement they began discussions of a possible boycott of the first day of school on Aug. 29.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on July 28, 2005.

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