Catholic school in Torrance dismisses asst. principal, drawing protest from families

TORRANCE, Calif. - An administrative shakeup at a Catholic school in Torrance is drawing controversy.

On Wednesday, families held a rally outside St. James Catholic School – a private elementary school in Torrance. A dismissal of the school's assistant principal left families demanding answers.

"There's no transparency at all about what's going on with this transition," said Chris Tychsen, a parent. "Like all of a sudden, it's like a bomb went off."

Some believe the school is covering up the assistant principal's dismissal, who was also denied promotion to become the private school principal.

The dismissal comes months after the school was at the center of a scandal. In 2022, the school's then-principal, a nun, pled guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in school funds and then using that money to pay for gambling trips and other expenses. And now, this latest controversy surrounding St. James is shaking the faith of the families.

"We know that the school was given a settlement – and we're not receiving any of that money," a parent said.