A day after Rio School District Superintendent Yolanda Benitez was relieved of her duties, protesting parents said they will back a recall campaign while Benitez's critics applauded her removal.

Trustees Ron Mosqueda, Henrietta Macias and Ernest Almanza decided in closed session Wednesday to put the eight-year superintendent on paid administrative leave, a process that forces an employee off the job pending an investigation. They also gave notice to all seven principals in the elementary district they might lose their jobs and be moved back into the classroom.

Benitez's employment contract, which does not end until 2006, says she can be removed only for just cause. It is an "evergreen contract," meaning every time it is extended another year, it lasts another four. It allows a buyout, but that would cost $180,000 in what is a tight fiscal year.

Placing someone on administrative leave often is a precursor to a dismissal for cause. None of the three trustees could be reached for comment Thursday. Their attorney, Barbara Macri-Ortiz, declined to comment, saying it's a personnel issue.

Board President Mosqueda named Assistant Superintendent Mary Anne McCabe, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, to fill in for Benitez.

Reached at home Thursday, Benitez, 51, said she was still "numb" over the decision. Benitez said she has consulted with an attorney, who will be speaking with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office to determine whether the action was lawful. The superintendent said she will make a decision about any legal action after her attorney researches the action.

"I love my job," Benitez said. "My intent is to return to my parents and my children and my community."

Benitez said she has no idea what the charges against her could be. She has portrayed her difficulties with the three trustees as stemming from her endorsement of Francisco Dominguez in his unsuccessful campaign to unseat county Supervisor John Flynn. She said Flynn told her he would destroy her by helping elect trustees who would dismiss her, a charge he says is utterly untrue.

It is not clear whether the principals actually will be removed or the board simply notified them of the possibility to meet a legal requirement. Under state law, educators must be notified by March 15 of possible changes in their assignments.

A wholesale removal of principals and the superintendent would leave the district in chaos, Trustee Anthony Ramos said.

"They've taken no consideration into what's best for children," Ramos said.

Trustee Simon Ayala, who along with Ramos supported Benitez, said morale in the schools is "terrible."

"The district has been damaged," Ayala said.

Benitez's critics say the issue is not Flynn, but academic quality, teacher turnover and the comparatively low number of teachers with full credentials. Test scores rank below the national average but have improved over the past five years and are comparable with similar districts in the county. Many children, though, perform below grade level.

"There's people throughout the community that are interested in change," community activist Soledad Trevino said. "Now we can move forward and start to heal."

In the aftermath of the board's decision, legal questions remained.

One issue is whether Benitez should have received notice of the trustees' intent and whether they violated the state's open-meetings act by failing to specifically list the action on the agenda. Both Ramos and Benitez are interested in having that question investigated by the District Attorney's Office.

An official in the County Superintendent of Schools Office said paid administrative leave doesn't generally require notice.

"It's an emergency measure to provide the district time out to do an investigation," Human Resources Director Denise J. Danne said.

Benitez said the item should have been spelled out on the agenda. The action was discussed under an item proposing to review the superintendent's goals. She objected to that in a closed session with the board.

"I said, 'This is illegal,' and I got up and walked out," Benitez said.

Later, Mosqueda told Benitez to leave under escort of a Ventura County sheriff's deputy, she said. Sheriff's spokesman Eric Nishimoto said the deputy did not force Benitez to leave but merely walked with her. Nishimoto said the Sheriff's Department showed up at the meeting because of reports there might be some commotion. Benitez said Mosqueda told her he requested that officers come to the meeting.

As news of the trustees' action filtered through the district, about 15 Oxnard parents rallied in protest Thursday at Rio Del Norte School.

All of them said they would back a recall of Almanza, Macias and Mosqueda.

The main concern, they said, was the fate of the school's principal, Orvel Jones. Parents said Jones has been responsive to the needs of students, parents and teachers.

Some said they felt betrayed by trustees, who promised in February there would be no changes in administrators this year. Those trustees were Ramos, Ayala and Macias. Macias changed her position Wednesday.

Parent Ann Armstrong said the decision to put the district's seven principals on notice "shoots the board credibility down the drain, especially when you lie to the public."

The next board meeting -- a special session called by Mosqueda -- is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

-- Staff reporter Charles Levin contributed to this story.