"For the first time, I'd tell people you can send your kids here," said parent Cheryl Isaacson.

When Principal Darla Briggs resigned Nov. 20, parents were "stunned and devastated," said PTA President Judy O'Shaughnessy.

"Darla is entirely devoted to the kids, tireless in turning around an underperforming school, and extremely well liked by both parents and students," she added.

The reasons for her sudden resignation are still unclear. But parents voiced concerns that Briggs did not receive the necessary school support needed to implement various curriculum changes, which helped improve the school's overall performance.

PTA parents also expressed concern that district officials did not back its administrator. Some also said that they thought the teachers union had pressured the district into "sacrificing" Briggs.

San Jose Unified School District spokesperson Karen Fuqua could not confirm whether Briggs and the middle school staff were having difficulties working together. She also said she had no knowledge of problems between Briggs and the district.

Fuqua also said Briggs was leaving because "she had applied for a new principalship in Lodi."

In response to parent concerns about her sudden departure, Briggs said, "It seemed time for me to leave all the way around. But the parents know that I adore them. I wish I could pack up the kids and parents and take them with me to Lodi."

When parents learned Briggs had resigned and would leave in January, they called an emergency PTA meeting and drafted a letter to the district asking to be involved in finding her replacement.

Twenty-nine parents signed a letter that was delivered to the district on Nov. 24, asking to meet with administrators.

Nine parents met with Superintendent-elect Don Iglesias and Director of Secondary Education Bonnie Piché on Dec. 1 and had mixed feelings about the meeting.

O'Shaughnessy said the initial news that Briggs was leaving "was the straw that broke the camel's back" after the grim news of the school budget crisis, boundary restructuring and reduced instruction periods.

But at the district meeting she said parents were able to express their concerns that the school "would slip back to what it was before" if it did not have strong leadership.

The administrators "spent a lot of time listening. I felt that it was the beginning of a relationship to promote the school," O'Shaughnessy said. "Don was confident that we could find the right candidate."

Booksin PTA parent Melinda Gedryn said that when her husband, Bret, attended the meeting and asked administrators directly whether the district would fully support the new principal if the teachers went to the union in protest, he did not receive "a direct response" from the district, which appeared to "dance around" the issue.

"The middle school is becoming a place to be proud of, but parents are concerned that its principal receives enough support from both the district and staff to keep it on that path," Melinda said.

Fuqua said Superintendent Linda Murray "will take into consideration parents' concerns," but has the "right to appoint the candidate she chooses."

Although Murray plans to name an interim principal at the school board meeting on Dec. 9, parents are emphasizing the importance of having a say in the matter.

"The momentum we have gained is huge, and we were finally winning back neighborhood parents, and this makes things difficult," Isaacson said.