MONROVIA — When a meeting of the school board is standing room only, it can mean one of two things: people are there to celebrate the district, or they want to air some grievances.
For the members of the Monroe-Gregg School Board, Monday night’s meeting was a case of the latter.
The evening’s two opportunities for public comment allowed both current and former teachers and community members to give the school board what amounted to a public lashing. Although not every comment was about her, Monrovia Elementary School teacher and former varsity volleyball coach Laura Rahn was at the center of the meeting due to outrage that her coaching contract with the district was not renewed.
Most of the people who came to the meeting were there to speak on Rahn’s behalf. Rahn herself spoke at length, not only about her dismay with losing the volleyball job, but also with the culture of the school district itself.
“Morale for teachers is at an all-time low,” Rahn said. “Teachers are short-h...