Frazier Park School Principal Linda Palla has retired from her position with El Tejon Unified School District. Her retirement was accepted at the April meeting of the board of governors. She has relocated to the Lake Isabella area, where she has family.

The resignation of Frazier Mountain High School Vice Principal Kevin Triance was accepted by the board in March, effective at the end of the school year. Triance helped start the Frazier Mountain Continuation High School. He had transferred to ETUSD from Gorman School District.

Palla was a well-known and much-respected principal who oversaw a program that successfully raised the kindergarten to fourth grade school’s state test scores by 30 points two years ago.

ETUSD has faced turbulence since then. The hasty exit of former superintendent John Wight under an ethical cloud in 2006 was followed by three interim superintendents and budget cuts of about $800,000 over the past two years because of state fiscal problems and unfunded mandates for learning disabled students.

The principal of El Tejon School, Shelly Mason, was given a five-year contract to serve as ETUSD Superintendent.

In turn, Palla was asked to serve as school site administrator for both the Frazier Park and El Tejon schools. After several months a medical condition returned and she took medical leave, according to parents, then retired.

Julie Hornback is currently serving as interim principal for the two schools on a three-day-a-week basis.

This is part of the May 16, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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