Like it or not, personnel matters a private matter, even in public agencies

A popular principal at Wildwood Elementary School won't be returning next fall despite an outpouring of support at last week's Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education meeting.

School districts are usually secretive about personnel matters, so we may never know the real reasons why CVUSD isn't renewing the contract of Darlene Hale.

The children and parents of Wildwood deserve an explanation, but they probably won't get one.

Perhaps the school's test scores weren't living up to district standards.

Perhaps Hale sided with parents and children in a dispute over a teacher. Longtime observers of school districts know that principals are on the management team; they're expected to be in lockstep with upper echelon administrators. Whenever kids or parents try to influence a decision over keeping or not keeping a teacher, the principal must reflect the position of his or her superiors. While some principals run their schools like fiefdoms, they must never forget that the real power is in the district office.

The closing of one or more schools in CVUSD is probably inevitable due to declining enrollment. Perhaps the district is starting to circle its wagons, although there's no reason to believe that Wildwood or any other school will soon close.

There are other grounds, too, why a principal's contract wouldn't be renewed. It just seems so unfair not to hear an explanation.

In today's litigation-gone-wild world, a school district may stay mum for defensive reasons, so that no lawyer can claim that a client's reputation was damaged. The silence could be blamed on courtrooms and attorneys.

In conclusion, the school district undoubtedly has solid reasons for its action.

If that wasn't the case, somebody would sue. Lawyers- they're everywhere.