LAUSD to replace all Miramonte staff

If the children at Miramonte Elementary School weren't traumatized before, they will be when they get back to school on Thursday. LAUSD Supt. John Deasy on Monday revealed the "unprecedented" move to temporarily remove all teachers and staff from the school where two longtime teachers have been charged with lewd conduct involving students. New teachers would be brought in, at least on an interim basis. Officials said "many, maybe all, of the current staff will be returned to the school eventually," the Times reports.

The unprecedented move is intended to build confidence among the many families who have lost faith in their neighborhood elementary school. More than a quarter of students did not show up for classes Monday.

Officials stressed that no one else on the Miramonte staff is under suspicion of wrongdoing but that the chain of events has placed a cloud over the campus that can be lifted only with a drastic response.

One of the largest elementary schools in the nation, Miramonte has about 1,500 students and a teaching and administrative staff of about 150.

Miramonte is located in unincorporated Florence-Firestone adjacent to South Los Angeles.

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