Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School students marched to City Hall Friday, culminating a week of demonstrations to protest the unexplained absence of their principal.
Dozens of Mendez High students gathered with signs outside the Boyle Heights school before walking west toward downtown L.A. The protesters were joined by students from neighboring Eastside high schools Roosevelt and Lincoln. Messages had spread on social media encouraging Roosevelt High students to march in solidarity with Mendez and as a result of budget cuts to their own school.
Briana Torbay, an 18-year-old senior at Mendez, said LAUSD’s minimal responses have pushed them to walk out in protest. “This is the whole point of the protest now, we want to actually acknowledge our principal’s situation,” Torbay said. “I think it was really unfair so now we are walking to City Hall to make our voices heard.”
Nicole Vera, a sophomore at Roosevelt, said she was out there to make sure students’ voices were being considered in LAUSD’s decision-making processes.
“The solutions being made are being made without us,” Vera said. “It’s important to support Mendez today because Mendez has been facing the biggest part of the budget-cutting and they’ve lost their principal for an unknown reason.”
More than 200 students gathered on the steps of City Hall where council members convened inside for a regularly scheduled meeting.
“We are here to demand the transparency we deserve from LAUSD,” said Mendez senior and protest organizer Elsy Muñoz through a loudspeaker.
About two dozen parents joined students at the demonstration and were seen picking up trash and passing out snacks. Isabel Martinez, a parent at Mendez, showed up early to march along with her son. “I don’t know what the outcome is going to be … I’m here to try to alleviate their concerns and try to be supportive,” Martinez said.
Friday’s march comes after a tense meeting Thursday afternoon at Mendez High where outraged parents questioned LAUSD officials about Principal Mauro Bautista’s monthlong absence. Some parents also expressed concern about their children missing class to join demonstrations, saying teachers were encouraging the protests.
Mendez High School students and parents demand answers over principal’s sudden absence
Gilberto Martinez, LAUSD’s Region East administrator of operations, reiterated to parents that officals couldn’t give details on Bautista’s absence, citing employee confidentiality. In response to parents’ concerns about students missing class to participate in protests, Martinez added that protests have been voluntary and that once students exit the campus, they’re allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights.
Students and parents said the meeting ended abruptly after about an hour of intense discussion.
“It was pretty horrible to be honest,” said Jonathan Everhart, who has one child at the school. “There’s no answers yet. They come in and are making changes and that’s not how the school used to function. This was a community school,” Everhart said.
Among the changes Everhart is referring to is the introduction of two interim principals in the last few weeks. Soon after Bautista’s absence, Dr. Edna Bereal was assigned as interim principal. But Thursday, LAUSD announced John Aguirre would be taking over the role.
Bautista, who became assistant principal when the school opened in 2009 and was promoted to principal in 2011, has been absent for a month without explanation. According to students and staff, John Cerezo, an assistant principal at the school, has also been absent.
“Free Jefe!”: Mendez High School students walk out to protest principal’s monthlong absence
Boyle Heights Beat has continued to reach to LAUSD for additional comment. In their latest statement, an LAUSD spokesperson reiterated they couldn’t share further details. “As personnel matters are confidential, we cannot offer further comment at this time,” the spokesperson said.
