A Jefferson City Public School principal has been demoted and transferred to a different elementary school for reasons district officials would not comment on Friday.
Scott Salmons, who served as Belair Elementary School's principal for seven years, was moved to Pioneer Trail Elementary School on Wednesday and is now an assistant principal.
Elizabeth Milhollin, the assistant principal at Pioneer Trails, was promoted to principal and transferred to Belair the same day.
Superintendent Larry Linthacum said he could not comment on why Salmons was demoted or transferred because it would disclose confidential personnel records. He said he understood there may be rumors floating around as to why the transfer was made in the middle of the school year but said he could not confirm, deny or address any rumors or reasons regarding the staff swap.
Salmons and Milhollin could not be reached for comment.
"We felt we needed to make a change in the principal leadership," Linthacum said. "It's unfortunate on the timing of that; we recognize that. We felt it was the best thing to do at this time."
Linthacum said he had deliberated with Kathy Foster, assistant to the superintendent for elementary education; Penney Rector, assistant to the superintendent for human resources; and Jason Hoffman, chief financial officer/chief operating officer, for the past couple weeks on how to handle the situation.
School board members were made aware of the situation but were not part of the decision to switch Salmons and Milhollin, Linthacum said.
He said Salmons was transferred specifically to Pioneer Trail because it is the only elementary school that has an assistant principal, and district administration thought Salmons and Milhollin would be a good fit at their new schools.
Linthacum said the district sent notes home with students, notifying parents of the staff change, and alerted JCPS faculty. He said he also plans to meet with the PTA at Belair.
"We understand people may have questions, and we want to be as proactive as we can under the circumstances," he said. "I can't get into personnel specifics, but we want to (assure) patrons and parents that the leaders in our buildings can lead our students and have positive environments for each of those buildings. That's why we felt we needed to make the change at this time.
"Belair has a lot of history; they've done a lot of great things there," Linthacum said. "Over the years, it has a reputation as being a high-quality school, and we still feel it's a high-quality school. Great kids there. It's a great community school. Great parent engagement. Not so much what (Salmons) wasn't doing, we just want to ensure there's a positive learning environment. We're excited what Elizabeth Milhollin brings to the table."
When asked if Salmons's new position was permanent, Linthacum said, "It's for the time being."
District administration will continue to evaluate the situation and is looking at all building leadership, he said.
The district will not transfer principals just for the sake of transferring them, Linthacum said. However, buildings are being evaluated and have been since he started as superintendent in July.