The Santa Ana Unified School District has withstood the politically charged recall of a trustee who championed bilingual education, questions about millions of taxpayer dollars poured into new schools that have never been built, and the rise of nutty conservatism on the school board. But just when it appeared things could not get stranger, a principal ended her reign at the worst-performing school in Orange County last week with a childish tantrum—complete with fake fainting spell!
OC Weekly first wrote about Lathrop Intermediate School principal Gloria Nogales-Talley's reign of terror a month ago (“Principal Gone Wild!” Nov. 14). Since then, Nogales-Talley, who served barely a year as principal, threatened teachers and staff she viewed as opponents, encouraged her supporters to visit Lathrop during school hours and yell at opponents real and imagined, and tried six times in six months to nullify a teacher advisory committee election even though the most recent vote was overseen by district and teacher union officials. And a master plan detailing the Lathrop budget that was due in district offices more than two months ago? Nogales-Talley claimed she completed it but refused to hand it over—with no reason given.
So it's no wonder district superintendent Al Mijares took action last week, transferring Nogales-Talley out of Lathrop and into an undisclosed district job.
Physically removing her from the school, however, was something completely different.
Mijares ordered Nogales-Talley to report to district headquarters on Dec. 12. Instead, according to a Lathrop employee who saw the events unfold, Nogales-Talley showed up at the junior high and informed a computer lab technician of her fate. The technician told Nogales-Talley “that it would be best if she just gathered her material and left with some dignity,” said the employee, who requested anonymity. “Well, she didn't do that.”
Nogales-Talley left the computer lab for her office, where she placed calls to parents who support her. Mijares and deputy superintendent John Bennett suddenly showed up at Nogales-Talley's office and demanded to know why she hadn't reported to district headquarters as directed.
But instead of responding, Nogales-Talley sprinted out of her office, ran up a flight of stairs to a second-story Lathrop classroom and began flailing around like a telenovala villainess.
“She began moaning,” said the employee. “She said she couldn't leave the school, that it was her school and that no one would ever take her away from it.”
Then Nogales-Talley collapsed, pretending to faint.
Paramedics arrived and declared the now ex-principal fine. Finally, Nogales-Talley left Lathrop and headed for the district offices, driven by a supporter who had shown up and screamed at Mijares throughout the morning.
Bennett later called a teachers-only meeting to announce that he and Mijares would serve as acting principals for the foreseeable future. Teachers, while pleased with Nogales-Talley's dismissal, nevertheless were muted in their enthusiasm due to the difficult task of reconstructing Lathrop in the wake of Nogales-Talley's destruction.
“Bennett didn't say why Nogales-Talley was removed, but then again, he didn't have to,” said a Lathrop teacher who declined to be identified for fear of retribution. “Obviously, all the teachers were happy. But we still have to bridge that gap that was formed between parents and teachers thanks to Nogales-Talley. We can move forward again.”
Editor's note: Fearing that a statewide Latino boycott would cripple Santa Ana Unified, district superintendent Al Mijares became the man with the plan: all kids who attended school on strike day, Dec. 12, became eligible to win a TV. Gustavo Arellano offered the following speech to the contest winner.
Dr. Mijares, familia, y todos los chavitos de Nezza:
Thank you so much for this television set. ¡Qué padre! A 28-inch color TV just because I showed up at school! I didn't even have to pass an English-fluency test or turn in any homework or pee into a cup!
I promise to show the world what a student from the Santa Ana Unified School District can do when plugged into the power of TV, especially one with remote control, picture-in-a-box and SAP. Rest assured, I will continue to spend all of my evenings doing my homework—only now I can do it while the screen flashes lucha libre or movies with dwarfs chasing women with big chichis.
I'm still not sure why exactly my school decided to give away a television instead of the usual solar calculator. I think it has something to do with making sure that students came to class on Dec. 12 because the pinche güey that used to rule this district—I think his name is Nativo Lopez—told my parents and my friends' parents that we should ditch class because Mexicans aren't allowed to drive and Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Nazi. Mr. Mijares, the boss of the teachers and the principals here, really wasn't clear about it. In a letter to my parents that he stapled to my shirt, he spoke about sponsoring “attendance rewards” for Friday, Dec. 12 and 19, for students with good attendance. That's cool! But why did he also write, “It is important for you to know that keeping your child home from school without good reason is damaging to his/her education and also against the law” and “I hope that you would not listen to anyone who would ask you to do something that is not in your child's best interest”?
Does he really think my mami y papi are that pendejos to follow the advice of one man—wait, what's that? Around 20 percent of my classmates ditched? Shows what I know.
Don't get me wrong, señor Mijares—I plan to use the television and am really grateful. Finally, my family can enjoy Primer Impacto in color! But don't you think you could've raffled something a bit more useful for students—like maybe a textbook with a cover? Or nets for the basketball courts? Or how about one full day in a classroom that's not a portable? Wishful thinking, I guess. Thanks again, ¡y que viva Villa, cabrones!
