Walkout Planned In Support Of North Texas Principal
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FRISCO(CBS11) - Students and faculty at Frisco High School are rallying around a beloved principal they say is being demoted for standing up for their school.
The plan Tuesday when the bell rings to end second period is for students and faculty at Frisco High School to walk off the campus and make their way a good two miles away to the school district administration building. The hope is to reverse a decision to remove their principal.
"Teachers come and go, but not every teacher is like Ms. Palacios. Not every principal is like Ms. Palacios," Senior Class President Lexi Murphy said.
Many students and faculty agree with Murphy. That's why they were shocked when they learned principal Sylvia Palacios will be leaving after years of service to Frisco High School.
"I believe that what has happened is an injustice," Frisco High School teacher Mary Autrey said.
In a letter to parents last week, Superintendent Jeremy Lyon announced that it was his decision for the principal to take a new assignment within the district at the end of this school year.
The letter went on to read, "Change is difficult but also provides opportunity for growth and renewal."
Although the letter doesn't say why Palacios is being reassigned, Autrey says students and faculty are convinced it has to do with several incidents in which parents demanded that teachers be disciplined and the principal refused.
"We learned more of the truth of why this was happening because of her not letting a parent bully her into making the decision that they wanted for their one student," Autrey said.
"When students don't get their way, they go home and complain, and then the parents feel like they have to say something, and then when the parents don't get their way, then it's an even bigger problem," Frisco High School senior Isaiah Harris added.
Protesters hope their show of support for their principal can save her job.
"That's why I care so much is because she cares for us. She loves us, and now it's time for me to show that I love her right back," Murphy said.
The school district released a statement saying it hopes the students will not walk out Tuesday. The statement reads, "We assure them that their principal is a valued employee of this school district and that her strengths will be utilized to the fullest in FISD in the coming years as she continues to serve students and families in a new role."
The statement added that no one is being punished.
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