July 26 (UPI) — The school board in Uvalde, Texas, placed the principal of Robb Elementary School on paid administrative leave as anger continued to swirl about the mass shooting there in May.
Ricardo Cedillo, an attorney for principal Mandy Gutierrez told CBS News that Hal Harrell, superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District placed her on leave. He did not say what led to the decision.
Gutierrez, who has worked with the school district for more than 20 years, was the school principal on May 24 when a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. It was the country’s worst school shooting in a decade.
Earlier, the Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo was placed on leave and faced a termination hearing before it was canceled. Harrell had recommended his removal.
A legislative investigation into the shooting suggested that Gutierrez knew about building security problems that allowed the shooter to gain access to the school but had not addressed them.
News about Gutierrez’s leave started just before a regularly scheduled school board meeting Monday night but never came up during the session. The board did say it will implement a series of security improvements in September.
The board said it would also make arrangements for emotional and social support services.
