A schools administrator will lead Orange Elementary School for rest of the school year.
A Corona principal went on leave the first workday after the arrest of a sixth-grade teacher accused of molesting a student.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Shanda Morgan, began paid leave March 2, the Monday following the Feb. 27 arrest of Shane Alan Kent on suspicion of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under age 14. Kent, who taught at Orange Elementary School, is free on $165,000 bail. His attorney has said he is innocent.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Sgt. Paul Mercado, Corona Police Department spokesman, said Friday, March 13, that detectives next week expect to send the case to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether to file charges.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Replacing Morgan is an interim principal, Charla Capps, who had been director of curriculum and instruction for the Corona-Norco Unified School District. Previously, she was principal of Franklin Elementary School in Corona and was a principal for nine years in the Riverside-based Alvord Unified School District.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Morgan, who earns about $134,000 a year plus benefits as principal, will be paid during her leave, said Linda White, assistant to the superintendent. The reason for the leave is confidential, White said, “but we expect her to return to the district.” Morgan could not be located for comment.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
In a letter signed by Capps and sent to Orange parents Thursday, March 12, she wrote that Morgan “will not be returning to Orange Elementary School” and that a permanent replacement will be announced before summer break. The role of the assistant principal, Kelly Williams, will be expanded to a full-time position, Capps wrote.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Morgan had been principal at Orange since 2007, when she joined the district.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
On Tuesday, March 10, the day Capps said she was asked to replace Morgan, an Orange parent, Desirae Hutchinson, started a petition drive asking other parents to keep their children home from school on Friday, March 13, unless Morgan was removed. A copy of the petition was sent to Superintendent Michael Lin and school board President Jose Lalas.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
“We had more than 60 signatures, and a lot of other parents were afraid to sign for fear of retribution,” said Hutchinson, a licensed marriage and family therapist with a daughter in the third grade and a son who graduated from Orange last year. Comments on a Facebook page called Concerned Parents of Orange Elementary allege Morgan failed to respond to allegations against Kent and other incidents including a previous arrest at the school.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
In September, Steven Michael Martinez, a teacher’s aide at Orange, pleaded guilty to four counts of lewd acts with students from 2010 to 2012 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.googleoff: allgoogleon: all
Hutchinson said she had asked White for a meeting before Morgan’s leave began, but White canceled. White said a meeting had been scheduled but the parent twice canceled it.