For the second time since June, the principal of Baldwin Middle-Senior High School was removed from his post September 15 after a gun was reportedly found in his car on campus.
Michael Smith, who joined the school after the June arrest of former Principal Michael Townsend, was reassigned to home after receiving a misdemeanor citation, school officials said.
Guns are not allowed on Duval County Public Schools campuses.
“Firearms on a school campus are dangerous and illegal,” school district spokeswoman Tatyana Wimberly said during a news conference announcing Smith’s reassignment while an administrative review takes place. “One of our priorities is, and will always be, the
safety and wellbeing of our students and our employees.”
There was no indication any harm was intended by the gun being on campus, school officials said.
Superintendent Christopher Bernier and other school district leaders will be at Baldwin September 16 to talk with faculty and school families.
“One of the things we believe we need to do is have a conversation with the Baldwin community about the hiring process before we go into a full-blown search for a replacement,” Bernier said. “I think there’s some healing that has to be done here around the entire hiring process, including today’s outcome.”
A community meeting will be held September 16 at 3:00 p.m. in Baldwin's Room 102, said a message emailed to parents connected to the school.
The email about Smith's reassignment said: "We understand this news may be difficult to receive. Please know that this matter is being taken seriously, and our focus remains on maintaining a safe learning environment and supporting the academic success and well-being of our students."
Smith was previously an assistant principal at several schools and had been the subject of recent media attention to earlier complaints about his conduct with students.
Most recently assigned to Ribault High School, he was moved to Baldwin’s top job after former Principal Michael Townsend was removed and arrested on a charge of failing to report child abuse, a reference to the May arrest of former teacher James Mulvey on charges of seeking a romantic relationship with a student.
Bernier said that School Police Chief Jackson Short told him he had received a tip about a weapon and Bernier said he directed the chief to investigate, which led to the gun being found in Smith’s car.
The gun was in a holster in the car's center console, Short said.
Bernier said the selection of a principal is “a symbol of our trust in the individual to do the right things. There’s no way in the hiring process you would foresee this poor judgment.” He said no prior complaints involved any weapons and that there was nothing linking those complaints to the gun's discovery.
Bernier said it may be next week before the district begins a search for a replacement and that administrators have begun talking about an interim choice but said that person will have to be "above reproach."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: DCPS pulls 2nd Baldwin principal from job after gun found in his car
