Administrators meet face-to-face after principals alleged drug use lands them on leave

REDMOND, Wash. - Parents had their first opportunity to talk face-to-face with Northshore School District’s administrators after revelations that two elementary school principals—a married couple—were on leave following allegations of drug use.

Sunrise Elementary Principal Michael Griffin has been on leave since May 9.

His wife Meghan Griffin, the principal at Moorlands Elementary, was placed on administrative leave on May 30, stating that the decision to place her on leave came due to an incident the month prior.

By then, parents had done their own sleuthing—an extreme protection order that took away Michael Griffin’s guns had a written statement from his wife admitted that the couple had been using drugs for the past year.

The protection order was filed after the April 30 event where Michael Griffin, according to police, appeared to be high and spewing paranoid thoughts. Police confiscated a gun, and had him transported involuntarily to a nearby hospital. While no criminal charges are being pursued, it created a paper trail that parents found out about through media, or their own digging.

"My takeaway is they’re not taking any ownership," said one frustrated Moorlands Elementary parent following a Tuesday night meeting with administrators. "They’re not admitting there have been multiple failure points where they had the information to do something. Instead, they chose to protect the family of the principal versus the safety of our kids."

Numerous Moorlands Elementary parents have expressed frustration that it took so long for action to place Meghan Griffin on leave. Sunrise Elementary parents have voiced concerns over how little information has been shared with them.

"I’m really concerned for Mrs. Griffin and her family," said Elouise VanGeffen, another Moorlands parent. "I’m really sad this has happened. She has young children. I’m really disappointed in how it’s been handled. I don’t think we were given any information."

Last week, district officials told FOX 13 that they couldn’t speak on personnel matters, but roughly 24 hours after being asked about the situation they put out this statement:

"The District became aware of a police report detailing an incident that took place on April 30. While the incident didn’t take place on a district campus or while performing district duties, Northshore placed Principal Michael Griffin on administrative leave in order to conduct an internal investigation. Additional data was added to the original police report, and when the District became aware, Principal Meghan Griffin was also immediately put on leave."

Northshore School District kept their meeting with parents this week discrete. Parents were invited, though staff told FOX 13 that it was a meeting for parents; cameras were not allowed in while parents grilled administrators.

While there have been frustrations, parents told FOX 13 that the meeting itself was cordial. A handful of parents said they think more information needs to be shared, while others stated they believed that the district was in a difficult spot.

"There’s no actual risk to the students and staff at Moorlands," said Jeremy Cavner, following Tuesday night’s meeting. "I’m comfortable with that fact, I believe that. My personal opinion is commonsense-wise it seems appropriate that both principals could have been put on leave sooner, I understand that legally, that may not have been an option."

Northshore School District has a regularly scheduled school board meeting later this month.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police confiscate three guns from Northshore SD principal believed to be on cocaine

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Washington’s Office of Superintendent Public Instruction tells FOX 13 that they are aware of the situation, and are in contact with Northshore School District.