KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County Schools has appointed a new principal at Hardin Valley Academy months after an internal review into multiple safety incidents that happened in March and April.
According to Knox County Schools, Mitchell Cox will serve as the new principal of Hardin Valley Academy effective July 2023.
Former Principal Rob Speas was placed on paid administrative leave after the school system began an internal review into the handling of several safety incidents, including an incident in late March 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 arrest report from the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
KCS said on Friday Speas' status had not changed and he remains on paid administrative leave. However, KCS posted an announcement on its website that Cox would take over in July.
Cox joined KCS as principal of Halls Elementary School in 2017. KCS said he taught for seven years at Sullivan North High School in Kingsport before becoming a teacher and administrative assistant at Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee in 2012. A year later, he served as the assistant principal at Sullivan Central High School and the principal of Indian Springs Elementary School.
Several parents expressed outrage over how the gas incident and other threats against the school were handled and communicated.
Some students fell ill on March 30 and parents complained it took hours for school leaders to notify them and evacuate.
Amy Bullock is a Hardin Valley Academy parent. Her daughter was in the 10th grade. She said she always sends her daughter to school every day, but didn't after the school experienced back-to-back emergencies in the span of a week.
"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.