Beaufort High School principal put on leave for disciplinary reason, school board members say
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said the principal was fired but was changed to reflect that she was put on leave, according to two board members.)
Beaufort High School Principal Carla Shelton was put on administrative leave for disciplinary reasons, which have not been made public, according to Beaufort County School Board members.
Board Member Richard Geier said Superintendent Frank Rodriguez ultimately made the decision to put Shelton on leave, who was in her first year as principal at the high school. Board member Will Smith, who represents the high school’s district confirmed.
Geier declined to say publicly why Shelton was put on leave.
“We don’t exactly know what’s going on,” Smith said. “It’s a personnel matter that they’re going through.”
The superintendent is responsible for firing school district employees. His decisions are then reported to the School Board in a monthly personnel ratification report given in executive session that closed to the public.
“That’s the superintendent’s business,” Geier said. “The board sees all hirings and firings and resignations and retirements once a month, and at that time, the board can comment on it.”
Rodriguez could not be reached for comment. The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette called Rodriguez Monday and Tuesday, and he didn’t answer attempts seeking comment or respond to a voicemail and email.
Candace Bruder, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County School District, said district policy prevented her from commenting on personnel matters.
Shelton was put on leave with a little over a month left in her first year. The school district announced her departure Monday.
She was hired in June 2022, replacing the school’s former principal, Charity Summers.
Shelton could not be immediately reached for comment.
Parents were notified by email Monday morning that Shelton is no longer on the job, and that Assistant Principal Sonji Leach would serve as interim principal.
“Although we understand that absences such as this can create questions amongst students and parents, the district is unable to comment on personnel matters,” the district said the email. “We greatly appreciate your support during this transition.”
News of Shelton’s departure came to the dismay of parents. Danelia Merino-Canales, who has a 10th grader at the school, said she had little cooperation trying to get information from the school district.
“Parents were given no explanation, it’s frustrating,” she said.
Shelton’s 25 years in education included time as a special education teacher, a school counselor and a principal, according to previous reporting. Before coming to work with the Beaufort County School District, she was a principal for a high school in Evans, Georgia.
In an interview with the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette ahead of her official start in August, Shelton said she was most excited to help boost morale among students and staff alike following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think we have to get everyone reconnected,” she said. “We have to understand we are going to have to get back to school as we know it. I think what’s come out of the whole COVID crisis is people need each other.”
During her year as principal, Shelton’s school was one of at least two Beaufort County schools, and 22 others in South Carolina, that was targeted by a hoax phone call reporting an active shooter on campus in October. The school went into an hours-long lockdown and had students and teachers sheltering in place. The phones calls were unsubstantiated and the investigation was turned over to the FBI, according to previous reporting by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
Since then, the hoax calls have taken place in other states as well.
