Ulster County High School Principal Placed on Paid Leave

A High School principal in Highland, New York has been placed on administrative leave leaving many students and parents in the district wondering why.

Highland High School Principal Placed on Paid Leave

The school board of the Highland Central School District in Ulster County, NY has confirmed that they have placed the Highland High School Principal Kevin Murphy on administrative leave. The decision was made by the board, which is headed by President Alan Barone and Vice President Tom Miller following a special executive session that took place on November 20th.

It's unclear at this time what reasons led to the administrative leave which was first reported by Times Hudson Valley, as the school board did not disclose the reason for the action. We have reached out to the School Board President Alan Barone, Superintendent Joel Freer, and Highland High School Assistant Principal Brandon Opitz for comment regarding the situation but our emails have gone unanswered.

Highland High School Principal Kevin Murphy

Principal Murphy, who lives in Poughkeepsie has been with the Highland district since July 2020 and spent many years at various schools across the Hudson Valley including serving as an assistant principal at Poughkeepsie Middle School and at Dover High School. Murphy has also served at schools in Highland Falls and New York City holding positions as an elementary school teacher, music instructor, and band and choral director.

Parents Speak Out About School Principal

As news of Murphy being placed on administrative leave began to spread many parents took to social media to share their thoughts on the situation with some parents expressing frustration as some were unaware Murphy was placed on leave until seeing it on social media. "Sad that this is how we find out." said one parent.

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Other parents had nothing but positive things to say about Murphy leaving comments like, "This is really sad. MURPH is AMAZING. He has been nothing but wonderful to my family and children", and "I have never heard anything negative about this man from my kids. I was always impressed by the amount of time he dedicated to the school."

This is a developing story and as more information becomes available we will update this article.