Students, staff want to know why Gilbert principal resigned

GILBERT, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Students and staff walked out of school on Friday morning at an elementary school in Gilbert, wanting to know why their principal had resigned.

More than 200 teachers, students and parents participated in a peaceful protest at Power Ranch Elementary School. They wanted to send a message to the Higley Unified School District that the sudden resignation of principal Chris Reuter was not right. “We were out here because we love Mr. Reuter,” said parent Megan Wright. “We support him. We believe in him, and our kids love him and we need answers.”

The popular principal, who’d been at the school for 20 years, resigned unexpectedly last week and parents and teachers are demanding to know why. Erin Horn has three kids at Power Ranch. “We wouldn’t be in this position with all the gossip happening and all the rumors about Chris Reuter had the school district been transparent with us,” said Horn. “I just think if HUSD would be more transparent with us moving forward, we would have a lot more answers today.”

More than a hundred people showed up at the HUSD board meeting Wednesday night to voice their support for Reuter and demand answers, explaining why the principal stepped away so unexpectedly. The sudden resignation has sparked a wave of rumors and speculation on social media, with a number of parents claiming Reuter was forced out.

The school district insists the resignation had nothing to do with criminal charges filed against a past staff member.

This email was sent out to parents:

Dear Power Ranch Elementary School Community,
Higley Unified School District would like to address persistent and false rumors circulating in the community regarding the leadership change at Power Ranch Elementary. Mr. Reuter’s resignation is unrelated to a previous investigation related to former staff member Aaron Dunton. The criminal charges filed against Aaron Dunton did not pertain to any acts or omissions that occurred during his employment with the District. We believe the rumors that these two events are linked originated from a tweet by an online activist, amplified by other social media users and the local media. We ask that all members of the community respect the decision made by Mr. Reuter to resign and recognize that Mr. Reuter and the District worked collaboratively on the agreement that was reached. We can assure you that our priority remains our students, staff, and families. We are focused on a smooth transition of leadership at Power Ranch Elementary and on providing continued quality education for our students.
Respectfully, HUSD Leadership
Higley Unified School District

Parents at the rally say it’s not good. “I hope other people in district see this and think, if you have a principal at your school that you love, that majority of teachers love, parents love, students love, this could happen to you at your school,” said Wright.

Arizona’s Family reached out to Reuter for comment but we have not heard back.

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