When she heard that the superintendent had reassigned her principal in March, South Pasadena High School senior Kate Davis was outraged. She and a couple of hundred of her classmates walked out.
Kate's father, however, supported the move. Lloyd Davis moved from Pasadena so his children could attend the renowned South Pasadena Unified School District. He says the caliber of the high school has deteriorated. And, he believes Principal Janet Anderson is to blame.
For the last two months, the residents of South Pasadena -- no strangers to fighting for their quiet, oak-lined streets and small-town atmosphere -- have sparred over this issue.
South Pasadena schools -- In some editions of Monday's California section, a photograph with an article about a controversy in the South Pasadena Unified School District showed parent Jan McFarlane pointing her finger, and the photo was placed next to a picture of Robert Arias, the district superintendent. The caption should have made clear that McFarlane was not pointing at Arias, but at another member of the audience. Also, the caption portrayed McFarlane as saying Arias should be fired. In clarification, McFarlane said she was commenting on the issue of whether Arias had illegally taped an administrator's evaluation conference.
As the contentious debate among friends and neighbors -- even fathers and daughters -- escalates, the superintendent's job hangs in the balance.
South Pasadena "is like this little bubble town that everybody thinks is perfect. But it's not," said Kate, who plans to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in the fall.
Often compared to a Midwestern town -- outside of its $694,000 median home price last year -- South Pasadena is a close-knit community of about 25,000 residents, many of whom moved to the city for its 4,250-student school district.
South Pasadena residents pay two special school taxes, and many also contribute hundreds of dollars each year to the South Pasadena Educational Foundation.
Supt. Rob Arias knew the decision to reassign administrators, made with school board support in a closed meeting in March, would not go unnoticed by South Pasadena parents. But Arias never expected that his own job would be threatened.
"I knew it was politically risky," he said. "I expected the public outcry, but I didn't expect them to take it to step Z."
As a result of Arias' actions in reassigning the principal, school board member Dr. Richard Sonner introduced a motion April 27 asking the board to consider the "discipline/dismissal/release" of the superintendent. Sonner's proposal only further divided the town.
Parents and community members held meetings in their homes, allegations of fraud and conspiracy theories surfaced in local newspapers, hundreds of e-mails are being sent to board members and heated discussions are occurring around town and on Internet message boards.
One administrator says that an evaluation conference was illegally taped by the superintendent, a charge that Arias denies. The teachers union has declared war on board members Tammy Godley and Pete Kutzer, both of whom are up for reelection next year, because they supported the superintendent.
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