An Oklahoma school community is in shock after the high school principal was fired. In late September, reports surfaced that the principal showed up drunk to chaperone the school dance. And if that wasn’t enough, he then allegedly started to touch students inappropriately on the dance floor.
Students and parents quickly reported the principal, who was arrested on September 28. Two days later, on September 30, the school district alerted the community that the principal had been fired. And now he’s facing additional charges.
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The principal pleaded not guilty.
On October 1, Mickey Replogle, former principal of Bixby High School in Bixby, Oklahoma, entered a not guilty plea. Police arrested Replogle after he was allegedly intoxicated and inappropriately touched students on the dance floor while chaperoning the school’s fall dance, KOKI-TV reported.
Replogle was fired from his job as school principal.
Superintendent Rob Miller released a statement, shared by KJRH, saying that Replogle will “no longer be employed by Bixby Schools.”
He added: “It distresses me that any child in Bixby Schools would feel unsafe or uncomfortable around any BPS employee, let alone a person in a leadership position. I apologize to anyone who has been impacted by this incident and want to assure you that we are committed to regaining any trust that has been damaged.”
The school district is taking the whole situation seriously.
In his statement, Miller shared that the district will continue to “actively support” the Tulsa Police as the investigation is ongoing.
“Your commitment is a true testament to the strength of our community. In the coming weeks, we will work diligently to restore and strengthen the positive culture we have at our schools,” he said.
Several students and parents complained about Replogle's behavior, which led to his suspension.
In a statement to the school community immediately following the dance, Miller assured everyone that the district takes the allegations seriously.
“Based on initial reports, I immediately suspended Mr. Replogle from all duties pending a thorough inquiry,” Miller stated. “We greatly appreciate those students and staff who came forward with these reports.”
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One former student alluded to the school district having 'scandals' over the years.
Bixby High School graduate identified only as Hannah spoke with KOKI-TV about the incident, saying she learned about it from her mother, who sent her “Facebook posts” about the whole ordeal.
“I was more surprised than anything,” Hannah shared. “I feel like that kind of weight will stay blanketed over the high school for a time because I feel like we’ve had … a decent number of scandals involving that kind of thing here recently because there was an incident with our old superintendent and his son and all that,” she added.
Replogle’s next court date in in November.
