I was astonished to read in the local newspaper about the poor judgment exhibited by Principal James Martin in not allowing a United States Marine to sit at his graduation ceremony with his class at Conejo Valley High School due to the student's inability to obtain leave from the military to attend rehearsal.

I was driven to write this letter after reading the letter to the editor in the Thousand Oaks Acorn of June 26 by Tara Kadium regarding the matter.

If Ms. Kadium's rendition of the facts is correct, the outrageous, insensitive response of Martin to the proper questions posed by Ms. Kadium, as well as his egregious treatment of serviceman Palidano, should be the subject of public criticism as well as disciplinary action.

I believe, even though Principal Martin is retiring, his employer should, at the least, publicly admonish him for his unprofessional behavior and should issue a public apology to the emotionally injured student, Raymond Paladino.

Any student who cannot attend his or her graduation rehearsal due to inability to obtain military leave should be allowed to sit with their classmates. It's inconceivable that a 10-minute private runthrough of the ceremony would be too much of an imposition for our schools in such a circumstance.

The unabashed hubris of Martin in taking the position of excluding Mr. Paladino from sitting with his classmates, coupled with his insensitive response to Ms. Kadium, reflects very poorly on the Conejo Valley Board of Education and is worthy of public scorn.

Shame on Principal Martin. Bill Salica Thousand Oaks