Whittier principal removed from post to resign at end of year. District won’t say why
The principal at Whittier Elementary in Fircrest will resign at the end of the school year, Tacoma Public Schools has confirmed.
Debra Audet, who started as principal at the school in July, will resign on June 30.
In the meantime, she’s been reassigned to Roosevelt Elementary School as a “principal on special assignment,” district spokesperson Dan Voelpel said. She will be assisting Roosevelt principal Jennifer Cooper.
Substitute principal Terry Burns will continue to oversee school operations and staff at Whittier through Dec. 20.
The announcement comes after the district alerted parents last week that Audet was not going to be at school through the rest of the week as the district looks into “concerns made about her.”
Voelpel told The News Tribune on Thursday that the district does not plan to release any more information as to why Audet will no longer be principal at Whittier.
“It’s a personnel issue,” Voelpel said.
Whittier families received an update from the district on Thursday, one grandparent told The News Tribune, but said it failed to explain why she was removed.
“I would like to know why for several reasons,” said Teresa Mullins, who has two grandsons at Whittier. “One being If she has integrity to even assist at another school and if she is able to be hired at any school in the future if her integrity is an issue.”
Audet was previously principal at Brigadoon Elementary School in Federal Way. Audet’s current annual salary is $145,815.07.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 12:33 PM.
