Colorado principal resigns after Snapchat photo shows students re-enacting murder of George Floyd

A Colorado high school principal resigned on Monday nearly one month after a Snapchat photo showed three students re-enacting the murder of George Floyd.

St. Vrain Valley Schools Superintendent Don Haddad said in a letter to parents obtained by USA TODAY that Mead High School Principal Rachael Ayers resigned after having multiple roles at the school in the past 12 years.

Haddad acknowledged the school "experienced significant challenges" the past year but did not mention the incident regarding the photo. St. Vrain Valley Schools did not say if Ayers' resignation was tied to the Snapchat photo.

"Rachael Ayers has made the decision to resign as Principal at Mead High School. I want to thank her for her lengthy service to the Mead High community for the past 12 years as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal, and I wish Mrs. Ayers the very best in her future endeavors," Haddad said in the letter.

Haddad announced that new principal Brian Young will host community meetings "to discuss advancing student success and achievement with a focus on a safe and inclusive school environment and culture for every student, teacher, staff, and community member."

The photo, obtained by the Boulder Daily Camera, shows one student in blackface on the ground with one student's knee on his neck and another kneeling next to them. The photo is captioned, "Bye Bye senoirs(sic)."

Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis after police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd on the ground with his knee on his neck for over nine minutes. Handcuffed, Floyd called for help and said multiple times he couldn't breathe. Chauvin was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on April 20.

Floyd's murder sparked an international movement calling for an end of police brutality and ending social injustice. Haddad said on May 20 he was made aware of the "disturbing and disgusting" photo re-enacting the murder of Floyd.

"We in the St. Vrain Valley Schools strongly condemn, and have no tolerance for, racism in any form and will be addressing this extremely serious matter immediately and accordingly. Our district reaffirms its commitment to diversity and equality in our schools and in our operations," Haddad said.

One day after Haddad's letter, around 45 students protested outside Mead High School over the photo. A group of students told NBC KUSA Denver that the students in the photo were disciplined, but the district said they could not comment on the discipline due to privacy laws.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jord_mendoza.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Principal resigns after students re-enact George Floyd murder in photo