Students, parents protest after abrupt firing of Napa principal

Byby Katie Utehs KGO logo
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Students, parents protest after abrupt firing of Napa principal
From flyers on cars to protesting, students and parents at Justin Siena High School in Napa want answers following the unexpected firing of their principal.

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- From flyers on cars to protesting, students and parents at Justin Siena High School in Napa want answers following the unexpected firing of their principal.

"We want him back, we want justice in the system that seems so corrupt at the moment," said senior Alonzo Navarro.

Principal John Bordelon was fired a week ago. His attorney says there was no explanation. "There's only one person who knows, the indiviual who has power to fire him and that's Robert Jordon," said Anthony Celaya.

Robert Jordan is the school president and has the authority to fire anyone at the private institution. They are all at-will employees.

The new principal, Brother Christopher Brady, spoke on behalf of the school. "I'm not sure that they can be informed because it is a personnel matter as to the reason why. Law prevents the president from speaking about personnel issues," he said.

The parents are incredibly organized. In the last week, they've created a binder of letters to give to the school board. They're threatening to pull private funding, even students.

"I can't send my kids here," said one parent. "I can't do it. I have two younger kids that still would come here, but I won't do it under this rubric."

Principal Brady says Bordelon will not be coming back. "I'm the principal and I have been told that my predecessor will not be returning to the position."

A GoFundMe page has raised more than 61,000 to support Bordelon and his family.

Click here to learn more about the situation with former principal John Bordelon.