Alta View Elementary School will keep principal

SANDY — Evidently if you throw a temper tantrum, you get your own way, say some parents who have kids in Canyons School District elementary schools where principals are being rotated.

District officials announced Thursday night that Alta View Elementary School in Sandy will now retain its principal, Valerie Shaw. Last week, district officials had announced that Shaw and six other principals would be transferred to new schools starting Feb. 3. Shaw had been slated to move to Oakdale Elementary.

Some parents with children in other schools are crying foul, saying district officials bent to the squeaky wheel.

"We are frustrated, but we're not going to go throw a fit," said parent Barbara Morrell, who has children at Peruvian Park Elementary School in Sandy.

Canyons officials say it was a professional decision to keep principal Shaw at Alta View Elementary. "We reversed course in this one case," said district spokesman Jeff Haney.

"Upon reflection, we decided it was a good decision to keep her at that community," Haney said. "And she has some family factors that come into play there."

Shaw has two children at Alta View and had served as principal for several years.

A public input meeting Thursday night for Alta View parents was pre-empted by district officials reading a statement, after which they announced Shaw would stay. "Whether in the public or private sector, leaders of organizations often must make personnel decisions to promote growth for both the organization and individual employees," the officials said in the statement. "Public schools are no different, and therefore it is not uncommon to transfer principals, teachers and support staff.

"These decisions are not made lightly but rather with full consideration of the totality of the circumstances, including needs of students, needs of schools, needs of individual employees and needs of the district as a whole."

Laurel Bennett, who has three children at Alta View, said it was a five-minute meeting, and "people were thrilled" with the announcement. "She's just a great principal," Bennett said.

Morrell said Peruvian Park Principal Laura Finlinson, who is scheduled to move to Butler Elementary School, has asked parents to respect the wishes of the district, "but it's been difficult."

Now that Shaw is slated to stay at Alta View, a public input meeting for Oakdale has been scheduled at 6 p.m. Monday at Oakdale to gather opinions in the school's principal search.

District officials said that while rotating principals mid-year is different, the district wants to give the principals time to acclimate to their new schools and make hiring decisions before classes start in the fall. They said the goal is to utilize the strengths of the principals and better meet the needs of the schools and the community.

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