ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — The principal of a school in the Rocky River City School District has been placed on leave after district officials were notified by police that he is under investigation involving a former high school student.
Schools Superintendent Michael Shoaf sent a letter to parents and guardians in the district on Tuesday saying that Heath Horton, principal of Kensington Intermediate School on Lake Road, had been placed on leave immediately. There are two days remaining in the school year for students.
Shoaf writes in the letter that district officials were told of the investigation Tuesday afternoon. He said the district is “fully cooperating” with police. No other details on the investigation were available Tuesday night.
“The health, safety and well-being of our students are our top priority,” Shoaf writes.
Horton previously was an assistant principal at Rocky River High School and has been principal at Kensington since the fall of 2021. He was a language arts teacher for South Euclid/Lyndhurst City Schools from 2006-2012, then began working as an administrator at Brooklyn High School for five years.
Kensington is an intermediate school for grades three through five. More than 600 students attend the school.
In 2021, five Rocky River High School teachers resigned and one retired after they were accused of inappropriately discussing a student. An investigation found photographs of a student, taken in a classroom, on the phone of one of the teachers, according to a statement from Shoaf. Some teachers were also found to be in an “inappropriate text chain regarding staff members,” which did not contain photos of students.
Ad Choices