A Seattle school principal who has been the subject of criticism by educators there and whose school is under investigation by Seattle Public Schools will not move into a Tacoma principal’s job, Tacoma school officials said in a reversal Thursday.
Acting Superintendent Carla Santorno announced that she withdrew her recommendation to the Tacoma School Board to hire Gregory King, who has led Lowell Elementary School in Seattle since 2009.
The Tacoma School Board was scheduled Thursday to consider hiring King to become the principal at Bryant Montessori in Tacoma.
On Wednesday, the Seattle Times reported that the Seattle School District is investigating personnel conflicts at King’s school there. Seattle schools spokeswoman Lesley Rogers confirmed Thursday that an outside investigator hired by the district is writing a report about the situation at Lowell. She said she did not know details.
King sent a letter to Lowell families this week informing them that he would be leaving his job there to take a similar position at Bryant in Tacoma.
In a letter sent Thursday to Bryant staff members and parents, Santorno said she had received “multiple solid references” for King when he was considered for the top job at the Hilltop area school.
“In my earlier discussions with Mr. King and conversations with others at Seattle Public Schools, the issue of the Seattle investigation did not surface during the process,” Santorno wrote.
Santorno worked for Seattle Public Schools as chief academic officer for three years before Tacoma hired her as deputy superintendent in 2009.
She said in her letter Thursday that she had received “a lot of commentary and information” from the Bryant community about the announcement that the district intended to hire King.
Bryant has had its own conflicts in the past year or so. Parents had complained to both the school board and The News Tribune about a lack of communication and other issues that pitted some parents and teachers against Bryant’s former principal, Claudia Mason. She resigned earlier in the school year.
Connie Wick, a retired Tacoma principal, has been interim principal at Bryant since December.
Santorno told the school board Thursday that the district had conducted a standard process and interviewed three candidates for the Bryant job. She said those candidates were chosen from a slate of 15. She said King was the top choice of those on the interview committee, and that his references were checked.
“I regret that this came up,” Santorno said, adding that she thought King had talents to bring to Tacoma. But she said she wants to give Bryant the best principal she can, so she will re-start the search process.
Board member Debbie Winskill said that when that process starts, the district should seek parent input.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenews tribune.com
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