Buford City Schools Board of Education announced staffing changes after a meeting Monday.
Teresa Hagelthorn will be the new principal of Buford High School. She was hired as the principal of Buford Middle School in 2019. A Buford native and University of Georgia alumna, Hagelthorn has coached cheerleading, basketball, cross country, and track and served as a hearing officer on disciplinary panels. Her administrative leadership spanned from Buford Academy to Buford Middle School and Buford High School.
Hagelthorn will be the fourth BHS principall in four years after Lindsey Allen abruptly announced his resignation in January. In a letter to the board obtained by The Atlanta Journal Constitution through an Open Records Request, he questioned why he was asked to resign after receiving a satisfactory review.
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Parents and members of the community demanded answers why Allen hadn’t worked out. The board cited policy that didn’t allow discussion of personnel matters and wouldn’t elaborate.
In the meantime, BHS interim principal, Scott Chafin, will return to his role as assistant principal at Buford Academy.
Buford Middle School assistant principal for the past five years, Laura Beth Short, will be the new principal of the school. Short has spent the last 13 years in administrative roles. Before she joined Buford City Schools in 2015, she served as assistant principal at North Gwinnett High School for eight years.
As part of the leadership transition, a new position, associate principal was created at Buford High School. That role will be filled by Keith Johnson, currently an assistant principal at the school.
These changes go into effect on April 1.
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