Burlington High School Principal Debra Beaupre resigned on Tuesday after spending several weeks on administrative leave.
In a letter Tuesday to Burlington High School students and parents, Superintendent Tom Flanagan said Beaupre’s resignation would take effect on Tuesday, Nov. 28, and the district would immediately begin its search for an interim principal and an interim assistant principal to serve through the end of the year.
“We will work to fill these positions quickly to ensure that we have a full leadership team in place at BHS as soon as possible,” Flanagan wrote.
Beaupre was Burlington High’s fourth principal in just three years.
“I want more than anything to get stability in leadership at the high school, and I give you my word that we will work hard to do this,” Flanagan wrote in his letter to the community.
“Things are really tough right now. Obviously it’s not effective having people come in and out during students’ high school careers,” said Aquilas Lokossou, a member of the Burlington School Board. “We’re going to find ways to move forward from this.”
Flanagan also said the district would begin recruiting a permanent principal to take the position as of next July 1. In the meantime, assistant principal Sabrina Westdijk, who stepped in as acting principal after Beaupre was placed on leave, will continue to fill the role, according to Flanagan’s letter.
Beaupre began her tenure as principal of Burlington High in July. She was placed on administrative leave Oct. 24 after an incident in which she pulled a fire alarm at the school, saying she was trying to defuse a student altercation.
In a letter to community members, Beaupre explained that she wanted to evacuate the building “to ensure safety and provide emotional space to students and staff amid a heightened, atypical situation.”
Beaupre could not be reached for comment.
