Two administrators at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa have been placed on leave, two weeks after the fatal stabbing of a student at the campus.
The Santa Rosa Schools district website on Monday announced the decision in a brief statement, saying that Principal Adam Paulson and Assistant Principal Tyler Ahlborn were on leave and that a former principal, Laurie Fong, will serve as principal for the rest of the school year.
No other information was released by schools Superintendent Anna Trunnell about the action.
Fong, who served as principal at the school from from 2006 to 2016, stepped down from the Santa Rosa Board of Education in order to fill in at Montgomery, according to the district.
"Resigning her position from the board of education allows her to return to MHS to be part of the healing and to work closely with the district and school community as we build the security and social emotional supports for the school," the district's statement said.
Kaesa Enemark and Ryan Thompson, both former site administrators, will join the administrative team to support Fong and the school community, the district said.
Sixteen-year-old Montgomery High School student Jayden Jess Pienta was fatally stabbed March 1 during a fight in an art classroom, and a 15-year-old has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death.
One week later, a 15-year-old student was found with a large hunting knife in their backpack at another Santa Rosa school, Amarosa Academy. That student was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony possession of a dangerous weapon on campus, police said.
The school district said it is adding supervision to all high school campuses.
"Officers will spend more time patrolling around the areas of our high schools for added support. We will continue to work with (Santa Rosa police) to create long-term strategies for safety," the district's statement said.
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