Board preparing process for choosing new member

Claremont Unified school officials are expected this week to begin the process of replacing Steven Llanusa, the former Board of Education president who resigned following allegations of misconduct at a recent holiday party at his home.

Llanusa, a teacher in the Colton Joint Unified School District, is on leave from his job, according to district spokesperson Katie Orloff. Llanusa is listed as a teacher on the website for Smith Tech Academy in Bloomington.

In a statement shared by Orloff on Monday, Colton Joint Unified said all employees must pass state and federal background checks as part of the hiring process.

“The district is aware of the allegations at Claremont Unified School District,” the Colton Joint Unified statement reads. “While they are unrelated to Colton Joint Unified School District, we take them very seriously, as the safety of our students is always our top priority.”

Multiple attempts to reach Llanusa on Monday were unsuccessful.

Claremont Unified's school board is expected to vote Thursday to create a subcommittee and establish a timeline that would allow it to provisionally fill the vacancy left by Llanusa, according to the meeting agenda posted Monday afternoon.

If approved by the board, applications for the open seat would be available Friday at the district office and would be due by 3 p.m. Jan. 13.

Qualified candidates would be interviewed and a selection would be made by a simple majority vote of board members at a special meeting Jan. 18. The new board member would take office Feb. 2 and serve two years.

In an email sent to the Claremont Unified community Saturday, Superintendent James Elsasser said Llanusa tendered his resignation early Saturday and stepped down immediately from his board duties.

At a special board meeting that was livestreamed Friday, a half-dozen parents said their children, part of the Claremont High School choir program, performed at Llanusa’s home on Dec. 3 to raise money for the program.

At the party, parents said, the students were exposed to scantily clad male dancers dressed as elves and a “dirty Santa,” while some were offered alcohol.

Police are investigating the allegations.