Fight Over Principal : Parents Hand Recall Papers to Korenstein

Parents angry about the transfer of a Granada Hills junior high school principal served recall papers Thursday on Los Angeles school board member Julie Korenstein.

The recall notice, which was handed to Korenstein by two parents as she entered the board room at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s downtown headquarters, charges Korenstein with unresponsiveness and “a lack of commitment” to the West San Fernando Valley residents she serves.

Parents of students attending Robert Frost Junior High School are leading the recall effort. They charge that Korenstein caused former Frost Principal Gerald E. Horowitz to be transferred because he supported Barbara Romey, who ran against Korenstein in last year’s school board election.

Denies Involvement

Korenstein denied that she had anything to do with the decision to transfer Horowitz, who is now principal of Byrd Junior High School in Sun Valley. She said the decision to move Horowitz was made by district administrators because Horowitz had been at Frost for 10 years, and “it was time for him to go to another school.”

Horowitz said he does not want to leave Frost, “but I am a 31-year employee of the district, and I will do what they want me to.” He said he fears the transfer was based on a “political vendetta” by Korenstein because he campaigned on behalf of Romey in last year’s election.

“As a private citizen I supported a candidate. Is that wrong?” Horowitz said. “My preference is to be wherever I can do the most good, and I feel the most good is for me to continue at Robert Frost.”

Korenstein said the recall effort is being conducted by “a small group of vocal people who have made the decision to be involved in a political campaign.”

Korenstein, who was elected to the board in 1987 to finish the unexpired term of David Armour, is up for election again in April.

The parents who handed Korenstein the recall notice, Shirley Schwartz and Sandra Zien, denied that the recall effort is supported or organized by former political opponents of Korenstein. The two parents said they have initiated the recall because Korenstein did not try hard enough to get Horowitz returned to Frost.

Korenstein “seems to think we are political, but she doesn’t realize we are just angry mothers,” Schwartz said.

Korenstein, whose son is entering the eighth grade at Frost, asked in response, “Why would I want anything to go poorly at that school?”

Korenstein denied that she has been unresponsive to parents interested in keeping Horowitz at Frost. She said she met with parents on the matter but could not persuade a majority of the seven-member school board to overturn the decision.

Recall supporters said Horowitz is popular among students and parents because he is a strict but fair administrator. More than 200 parents, teachers and students attended a rally last week asking that Horowitz be returned to Frost.

To qualify for a special election, recall organizers must collect the signatures of 15% of 289,616 registered voters who live in Korenstein’s district, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city clerk’s office said. Recall workers have from Sept. 21 to Jan. 19 to collect about 43,500 signatures, which must be verified by the city clerk’s office.

If the signatures are collected and verified, then the Los Angeles City Council must hold a special recall election within 60 to 90 days, the clerk’s office said.

The only successful recall of a Los Angeles school board member was in 1979, when former board president Howard Miller was recalled and replaced by Roberta Weintraub.