Officials with the Cherry Creek School District ousted the principal of Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora on Friday, two weeks after a registered sex offender walked onto campus and tried to kidnap a student during recess.
District officials confirmed Friday that they had made “an administrative change” by replacing Principal Amanda Replogle with an acting principal for the final month of the school year.
Cherry Creek officials did not answer questions about whether Replogle had been fired or transferred to another position in the district.
Aurora police responded to the elementary school, located at 25233 E. Glasgow Drive, on the afternoon of April 19 after 33-year-old Solomon Galligan allegedly walked onto the school grounds wearing a white blanket and approached a group of students.
Galligan appeared to leave the school after realizing the students were yelling “stranger danger” and running away, according to the arrest affidavit.
Police arrested Galligan later that evening after a parent recognized him based on his description at a nearby Walgreens.
The district's investigation into the April 19 incident is in its final stages, Cherry Creek officials said Friday.
“The information obtained through this investigation has led us to conclude that we must make an administrative change at Black Forest Hills,” school officials said in a letter sent to families Friday. “We are making that change now so that we can move forward with the final weeks of the school year in a positive and productive manner.”
The letter also emphasized safety and protocol changes.
District security has reconfigured surveillance protocols during recess to improve line of sight, and students will be kept closer to school and away from the edge of the property, officials said.
Additional security and police patrols will remain in the area through the end of the school year, officials said in the letter Friday. The school has also re-established the 'Watchdog Dads/Moms' group to provide additional support.
The group consists of parent figures who serve on campus for a day under the school's administration.
Cherry Creek officials expect to announce a new school principal in the coming weeks.
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