More Petitions Started to Support Hiring of Collins for Superintendent

Community members delivered three petitions to the Monrovia Unified School District Board of Education this week in an effort to convince the elected body to abandon its search for a superintendent and hire Deborah Collins.

Collins was appointed interim superintendent in April after former superintendent Linda Wagner resigned and moved to the same position in Anaheim. The district has hired a headhunting firm to find candidates to replace Wagner, but petitions have been circulating calling on the board to stick with Collins.

"Since I felt so strongly that the right person for the job was already in the job as Interim, and since I had heard that sentiment repeated over and over by the community, I decided to collect signatures," local business owner Pam Fitzpatrick wrote in an email. Fitzpatrick collected 125 signatures on her petition, she said.

Fitzpatrick delivered her petition to the board during its regular meeting Wednesday along with the other two petitions. School Board President Chris Rich was not pleased with the petition campaign, according to Fitzpatrick.

Rich is traveling Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Councilman Larry Spicer started a petition in support of Collins' hiring in April and has so far gathered 200 signatures.

"Stop spending unnecessary money and hire Debbie Collins as the Superintendent of the Monrovia Unified School District," the petition statement reads.