West High principal’s leave not related to safety issues, district says

SALT LAKE CITY — After rumors circulated about why West High School Principal Dr. Jared Wright was placed on administrative leave, the Salt Lake City School District released a statement Friday saying the decision to remove him was “not related” to safety issues at the school. 

In December, students and faculty walked out in protest of the district’s handling of violence at the school; in November, a student was shot in a parking lot on school grounds. On Friday, another walk-0ut protest was held at the school in response to Wright’s removal.

The district made its statement Friday afternoon, saying the decision to place him on leave didn’t have anything to do with the “concerns he and others shared” related to the school’s safety.

“While we cannot discuss details surrounding personnel matters, we want to dispel any misinformation related to this topic and state clearly that the two are unrelated,” the district said.

The district’s statement did not say why Wright was placed on leave. It said it would be inappropriate to discuss those reasons publicly.

“We take the safety of our West High School community – and of all our school communities – very seriously,” the district wrote. “We are fully in support of our employees bringing forward their safety concerns, as we all share the same goal of having our students and employees learn and work in the safest environments possible.”

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This is a developing story. It may be updated.