Crocker Riverside Elementary School Principal Carl Westphal will take a medical leave for the remainder of the school year, a move that comes after a sexual harassment complaint and two investigations into his recent actions.
At a parent meeting tonight at 6 p.m., the Sacramento City Unified School District will announce the name of an interim principal to replace Westphal, who will not return to the school after his medical leave, said district spokesman Gabe Ross.
A permanent replacement will likely be named at the end of the school year, Ross said.
According to a News 10 story last week, Westphal was accused of making inappropriate comments to a female employee of an after-school program at the school.
That employee, Vanessa Grant, filed a sexual harassment complaint against Westphal and the school district responded in a letter to her that said there was sufficient evidence to support her claim, according to News 10.
Ross said a thorough review was conducted and appropriate action was taken.
A month after Grant filed her complaint, Westphal contacted the after-school program she worked for and asked that she and another employee be moved, according to News 10.
Ross said those allegations are currently being investigated.
Loretta Kalb started her reporting career at The Sacramento Union, moved to KOVR-13 as a television reporter, editor and producer, headed to The Associated Press in San Francisco and eventually returned to Sacramento and joined The Sacramento Bee. Throughout her career, she has covered the state Legislature, courts, local government and, now, education. She is a Chico native and an Elk Grove resident.
Diana Lambert began her journalism career as a proofreader at the Lodi News-Sentinel. She is now a senior writer at The Sacramento Bee covering K-12 education and California State University, Sacramento. Previously she was The Bee’s Elk Grove bureau chief. Lambert was raised in a military family and lived at bases around the globe. She attended four high schools, graduating from Tokay High in Lodi and then Sacramento State University. She lives in Elk Grove.
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