Parents and school community press board for answers after West High principal removed

Several parents and a School Community Council member at the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education meeting on Jan. 21 urged the district to explain why West High principal Dr. Jared Wright was removed from his post and called for greater transparency and community involvement.

Tessa Stewart, a parent with two children in the district, said she was “really troubled by this decision” and called for clearer communication from the district, noting a petition circulating with about 1,500 signatures in support of Dr. Wright. “You’ve removed a beloved principal from our school and we don’t know anything,” Stewart said during public comment, adding that the removal “has fractured the community at West.”

Jason Wheeler, another West High parent, described Dr. Wright as an “exceptional leader” who shows up at night events and supports students and staff. Wheeler said the school does not need another new principal and that Dr. Wright’s ongoing presence at the school mattered to students and families.

Ran Zamir, who said he serves on West High’s School Community Council, told the board the SCC was not notified in advance of the removal and asked for better processes. Zamir said he had seen year‑over‑year gains in attendance and college acceptances at West and that the abrupt personnel action risks undoing that progress. He asked the board to “reinstate or bring back Dr. Wright to West.”

The district did not discuss specifics in public. The board had moved into a closed executive session earlier in the meeting to discuss “the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual, and pending a reasonably imminent litigation,” language cited by the board when taking the closed session vote.

Board members and staff did not announce any personnel outcome or next steps publicly during the meeting. Several public speakers said the lack of information made it difficult for families to support district decisions and urged the board to communicate more proactively about personnel matters that affect school communities.

The board’s rules, read aloud before public comment, reminded speakers that state law generally prohibits the board from taking action on topics not on the agenda; the board also said it may direct staff to follow up where appropriate. The district did not announce any follow‑up schedule during the meeting.

The public comment sequence on West High closed after approximately three speakers, and the board later returned to other business. No formal vote to reinstate, reassign or otherwise alter the personnel decision was recorded in the public portion of this meeting.