Two weeks ago this morning, barely five weeks after the start of the new school term, Farragut Elementary School, in an unorthodox moment, introduced its first new principal in 13 months. Replacing a principal five weeks into the school term may be a Culver City record.
Parents were notified by email that Lynn Ebora, the principal who was just days into her second year, was transferred to a new position within the School District as of Oct. 15. The email said she wanted to spend more time with her family.
However, the 39,000 Culver City residents who do not have a child enrolled at Farragut were not informed.
Even though – or because it was – a most unusual change, no public announcement was made, a la the fanfare the District typically drums up when administrators arrive or leave.
Officials have acknowledged that the Farragut shakeup could lead to instability. They declined to speculate further.
Two New Roles
Supt. Dave LaRose told the newspaper: “We recently made a transition. We let Chris Collins retire for about an hour from La Ballona (last June), and she is now serving as the Interim Principal at Farragut Elementary School.
“Lynn Ebora is now serving in a teachers’ special assignment position with (Asst. Supt.) Eileen Carroll in Educational Services. This is a role Lynn has played in the past. Lynn’s talents and personal passions lie in the area of curriculum instruction.”
Given Ms. Collins’s retirement and pension system restrictions, it will take a team to replace Ms. Eborra at Farragut – including former principal Ms. Carroll and Mr. LaRose in addition to Ms. Collins.
Presently, Ms. Collins is fulltime. But shortly her schedule is expected to become creative so that she can be available throughout the remaining eight months of the school term.
“We will maximize the total number of days that we can with Chris being on retirement,” Mr. LaRose said.
Figuring Out a Schedule
“We are working on that right now.
“They have a pay threshold in the retirement system. Retirees can’t exceed a certain number of days and stay in the system.
“We will keep (Ms. Collins) fulltime through the holidays. We might look at a four-day week here and there just to expand her capacity. Then we will start working with the team fairly quickly, and the inclusive stakeholder project to start making the selection for next year.”
Farragut will complete the school year with the presumed principal rotation. A new principal will not be installed until next year.
For Next Year
Mr. LaRose said a comprehensive search will be conducted in “very, very early spring. This affords us an opportunity to be real inclusive with the team and the community about characteristics, qualities and goals, hopes and dreams, and really get that marketing campaign out there. This also helps create clarity about the skillset and the experience we are looking for.”
As for Ms. Eborra, Mr. LaRose said:
“She and I have been having conversations throughout the year. It’s always important not only that people are successful but feel fulfilled and joyful in their work.
“It was about balance,” Mr. LaRose said, “the amount of time she was able to dedicate to her own personal life, her own son and the amount of time that was being taken away from that. It was something she was continuing to wrestle with.
“One of the things we knew early on,” said the superintendent who is completing his third month this week, “is that the expectations, the goals and objectives that we have around teaching and learning, Eileen (Carroll)’s department has been ravaged over the years.
“To have that support around teaching and learning, and to have the role Lynn has played in the past, was very effective.
“We saw it as an opportunity that could work well for Lynn, and so Lynn decided to transition and move over into Ed Services.”
