GERMANTOWN, Wis. — One week before school starts, MacArthur Elementary Principal Tony Gonzalez has officially resigned his position after being on administrative leave.
"The resignation letter has been approved," said Russell Ewert, president of the Germantown School Board.
This week's meeting changed from a termination hearing to a resignation session, where the board spoke in a closed session then accepted the resignation.
Parents like Molly Bussie believe the school board pressured Gonzalez to resign.
"To me, if you're Mr. Gonzalez, I would much rather have a resignation on my record than a termination. I think it's incredibly disappointing that this is how it worked out," Bussie said. "He would love nothing more than to be with be in that school for the past couple of weeks, with his team to get all geared up to welcome the students at open house on their first day of school on Tuesday."
Watch: Germantown principal resigns one week before school starts
"I'm sad as a parent that my kids don't get to have Mr. Gonzalez as a principal anymore. I'm disappointed in this administration and this board for allowing this to happen," Bussie added.
Her second grade daughter Ada agrees with her mother's sentiment.
"He's a really great principal because he's really nice to people in our school and he respects," Ada Bussie said.
Not all parents agree. One parent called TMJ4 but would not go on the record, saying they were at the meeting and relieved Gonzalez resigned.
The superintendent, board and Gonzalez declined to speak on camera. The superintendent sent the following letter to MacArthur parents and TMJ4:
Tonight, the Germantown Board of Education approved the resignation of Mr. Tony Gonzalez as the principal of MacArthur Elementary and as an administrator in the district. Mr. Gonzalez chose to resign without an evidentiary hearing before the Board of Education. The Board met tonight to approve the resignation letter that was sent to the district and the full board yesterday, August 25th, at 2:56 p.m.
As a district, we are currently in the process of filling the position of MacArthur Principal with a qualified and experienced candidate as soon as possible. More information will be shared shortly by the administration and hiring team, which consists of MacArthur staff, parents, administrators, and Board Members.
We will continue to strive for leadership that aims and holds itself accountable for school safety, leadership, and student success.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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