LOS ANGELES (AP) — An entirely new staff of teachers will greet students Thursday at an elementary school rocked last week by the arrests of two longtime teachers on lewdness charges.
The case of a third-grade teacher accused of feeding children his semen during bizarre "tasting games" in his classroom over a five-year period has garnered international headlines and roiled the nation's second-largest school district.
Amid outrage from parents, Los Angeles Unified School District officials closed Miramonte Elementary School for two days to completely turn over the 120-member staff, from janitors to principal.
The new staff comprises a retired principal, 88 teachers and dozens of support staff who were recently laid off and were on a rehiring list.
The new hires alone will cost the cash-strapped district $5.7 million, district spokesman Thomas Waldman told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/zafF14 ). In addition, the teachers and staff who were removed will be paid. They will be kept at an unfinished high school nearby and some of the teachers will help plan future curriculum for Miramonte, district Superintendent John Deasy told radio station KNX on Thursday.
Although the teachers will be new, Miramonte students will find little else changed, Deasy said.
"They are coming right back to their desks, their work is already on the wall," he said.
However, there will be a counselor in each classroom for the rest of the school year.
"What we are doing today is providing students with an opportunity to talk about what has happened," Deasy said.
In addition to those costs, the district faces potentially millions of dollars in legal costs as lawsuits are filed. Families of at least two dozen Miramonte students have retained lawyers so far, the Times said.
The school's reopening follows revelations Wednesday of 200 more inappropriate photos of children and that one teacher sent warmly written birthday cards and presents to students who participated in his "games."
According to three lawsuits filed against the district, teacher Mark Berndt sent birthday cards to some of the girls, asking how they were adjusting to the fourth grade. He also wrote warm notes such as "surely no teacher could ever have a more wonderful student than you!!" and "P.P.S. The Roaches Say 'Hi!'"
He signed the notes: "Mr. B."
Students at the school say a large cockroach and other insects were kept in terrariums in Berndt's classroom and authorities say he photographed some students with the bug placed on their faces.
The cards were provided as exhibits in the lawsuits, which were filed Tuesday on behalf of three former students of Berndt. They allege that the district and Principal Martin Sandoval failed to adequately safeguard them against Berndt and a second teacher arrested, Martin Springer, who faces three lewdness charges in connection with the fondling of a second-grader.
Berndt gave one girl a CD dated Feb. 12, 2010, writing on it, "Happy 9th B-Day — Hope You Enjoy the Songs!" that included such tracks as "Never on Sunday" and "Gonna Get Along Without You."
Sheriff's investigators said they have found 200 additional photos they believe were taken by Berndt who is accused of committing lewd acts on 23 children from 2005 to 2010.
The photos were found late last week at the same pharmacy where a photo lab technician had first noticed odd pictures that led to Berndt's arrest, sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez said. The recent discovery brings the total number of photos to roughly 600.
Many of the photos involve children already identified by authorities, but there may be other potential victims, Marquez said.
Like the other pictures, the photos show children ages 6 to 10 blindfolded and being fed a milky, white liquid that authorities believe was semen on spoons or cookies, Marquez said.
Berndt, 61, taught for 32 years at the south Los Angeles school. He remains jailed on $23 million bail and could face life in prison if convicted.
The furor over his arrest led two parents to come forward last week to complain that Springer, who had worked at the school for 26 years, fondled two second-grade girls in his classroom.
Springer, 49, pleaded not guilty Tuesday after he was charged with committing three lewd acts upon one girl in 2009. Bail was set at $300,000.
Detectives said there is no evidence that the two men acted in concert.
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