Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Principal Ty Thompson is under investigation but will remain at the school while his duties are reassigned to other administrators, teachers learned in an impromptu meeting held at the school Thursday.
Two teachers told the Miami Herald that Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie and the district’s chief school performance and accountability officer Valerie Wanza held a meeting with staff at 1 p.m. informing them that Thompson will remain at the school in a figurehead-like status as to “not upset the community.” A law firm from Miami was hired by the school district to conducting the investigation. The nature of the investigation is unclear.
Stoneman Douglas history teacher Gregory Pittman said Runcie and Wanza told the faculty that former Stoneman Douglas principal Daniel Traeger will return to the school to take on some of Thompson’s duties.
Another administrator, Teresa Hall, who came to the school in March 2018, will also be taking on some of Thompson’s duties. Pittman said several teachers walked out before the meeting ended.
“The teachers are angry; everybody’s angry,” Pittman said.
A second teacher who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed Pittman’s account.
The announcement, coming a day before the start of spring break for Broward schools, is the latest development in a string of turnover and change at Stoneman Douglas following the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre at the Parkland school. Teachers staged a protest in the fall after three assistant principals and a security monitor were reassigned while under investigation.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
