Los Angeles school reopens amid sex abuse scandal

LOS ANGELES — A hubbub of controversy surrounded the reopening of an elementary school on Thursday where the arrest of two former teachers on lewdness charges led to the entire staff being replaced.

Outside Miramonte Elementary School, about a hundred parents and children protested with signs saying "Give us our teachers back" and chanting "no new teachers" as TV cameras rolled.

The teachers union announced it would file grievances on behalf of some 85 reassigned teachers against Los Angeles Unified School District.

Inside, new teachers took over classrooms, with students sometimes having to instruct them in how things worked.

Parents also attended a meeting with the new principal, but many emerged dissatisfied, saying the district went overboard in removing all teachers.

"My son liked his teacher," said Jose Vargas, shaking his head.

The school had been closed for two days while the entire 120-member staff was replaced in an unprecedented move by the district.

Superintendent John Deasy is seeking to clear the school from a cloud of distrust and suspicion stemming from last week's arrest of former third-grade teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who is accused of feeding 23 children his semen during bizarre "tasting games" in his classroom from 2005 to 2010.

A second teacher, Martin Springer, was arrested four days later after two girls said he had fondled them in class in 2009.

Deasy said replacing the staff, from janitors to principal, was necessary to restore trust among parents in the largely poor, Latino neighborhood of unincorporated Los Angeles County.

Whether any of the previous staff will return to Miramonte will be determined after the district completes its investigation into how Berndt's alleged activities went undetected for so long, he said.

The teachers were told via a notice of administrative transfer that on Monday they will report to a nearby unfinished high school, where they will be interviewed while the investigation is ongoing.

The teachers were being "tarred and stigmatized for no reason," said United Teachers Los Angeles President Warren Fletcher at a news conference held on the school lawn.

Inside the school, children and teachers were adjusting.