KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Hardin Valley Academy will soon have a new interim principal, according to a message sent to parents on Wednesday.
In the message, Superintendent Jon Rysewyk said Michael Reynolds would serve as the interim principal starting on Monday, April 10. Reynolds is a former administrator at Knox County Schools, according to the message.
He was also a former principal at Central High School, before retiring in 2018. He began his teaching career at Knoxville Catholic High School and joined the Knox County Schools in 1989 as a social studies teacher at Farragut High School, according to the district's website.
Principal Rob Speas was placed on paid administrative leave as an internal review continues, according to a KCS spokesperson. 10News reached out to him for his response but has yet to hear back.
The move by the district follows several messages to parents in the last 24 hours, tied to threats against the school.
Those messages follow a scare last week when authorities say a custodian intentionally left a gas valve on. Several students fell ill and parents complained it took hours for school leaders to notify them and evacuate.
Amy Bullock is a Hardin Valley Academy parent. Her daughter is in the 10th grade. She said she always sends her daughter to school every day, but didn't on Wednesday.
"Keeping her home was going to make me feel like I had a little bit more control over her safety," Bullock said.
A message from the school principal Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. informed parents of a potential threat on Wednesday.
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, Principal Rob Speas sent a follow-up. He said he couldn't share more details, but was working with the sheriff's office and school security.
Wednesday morning around 9:30 a.m., Principal Speas sent another message. This time it said the school held a pre-planned lockdown and deputies swept the building.
Parents forwarded all the messages to 10news.
"That's what's making every parent question, how is this going to be handled if it is a real threat? And if there is something that actually comes of one of these threats? How is it going to be handled?" she said.
The message was sent after KCS opened an internal review into an incident where authorities said a contract custodian intentionally left gas valves open overnight at Hardin Valley Academy. The custodian was identified as Jay Riley Kostermans, 23, from Knoxville.
It was determined that Kostermans turned on the two gas valves in the chemistry lab "out of anger over a dispute with his mother," according to the KCSO arrest report.
The school was evacuated on Thursday, and later the same day KCS and the Knox County Sheriff's Office said Kostermans was terminated by his employer and was taken into custody.