Arleta parents testify at a Portland Public Schools board meeting Tuesday November 5.
Elizabeth Miller/OPB
The principal at Portland’s Arleta K-8 school is out.
Arleta parents helped force out principal Diana Kruger after they learned a third grader was pressured by an older student to eat crack cocaine about two months ago. Kruger was widely criticized for not calling 911 or poison control when she learned the child had eaten the drug.
Portland Public Schools temporarily removed Kruger shortly after the incident, and reassigned her to a job at the PPS central office. District officials said this week that Kruger's absence from Arleta is permanent.
PPS regional superintendent Esther Omogbehin informed Arleta parents this week that Kruger will not return to the Southeast Portland school. Interim principal John Horn who's been in place since November will remain in place, according to Omogbehin's letter.
"Principal Horn has generously agreed to stay on through the remainder of this school year in order to provide stability for students and staff while we begin our search for a new, permanent principal," Omogbehin wrote.
Kruger herself had been assigned to Arleta as an interim principal for the 2019-20 school year.
Kruger is not out of a job, however. According to PPS public information officer Karen Werstein in an email to OPB.
"Diana is still employed by PPS," Werstein said.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the proper location of Arleta School. It is in Southeast Portland.
