The principal of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has been placed on administrative leave with pay, her lawyer confirmed on Monday.
Mandy Gutierrez was actively employed as principal when a gunman entered the school on May 24 and killed 19 students and two teachers.
According to ABC News, a special legislative investigation into the school shooting revealed that Gutierrez was aware of security issues at the school prior to the gunman’s entrance.
Gutierrez has been employed in various positions within the Uvalde school district for over 20 years but was only in her first year as principal at Robb Elementary School, CBS News reported.
Mandy Gutierrez, the principal of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Robb Elementary School/Screengrab/Global News
She is the second person to be placed on leave due to intense public criticism over the response to the massacre.
In June, school district police Chief Pete Arredondo was placed on unpaid administrative leave for his decision to delay approaching the active shooter within the elementary school.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District has continually recommended Arredondo instead be fired, ABC reported.
As news of Gutierrez’s leave was breaking on Monday night, a regularly scheduled school board meeting revealed several security and social improvements coming to Uvalde schools before the new educational year.
Among these improvements are an audit of existing Wi-Fi and communication problems and new video camera systems within the schools. Officials are also continuing their search for an interim district police chief, ABC reports.
Several emotional support programs for students were also announced at the school board meeting, including the hiring of five additional licensed counsellors to allow one to be present at each school campus. Telemedicine services, specifically psychiatric and counselling services, will also be offered to students in the Uvalde school board.
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