Santa Barbara principal rigged student election so daughter won

A Santa Barbara school principal has admitted to overriding student election results to award two positions to runners-up, including her own child.The elementary school principal has returned to campus after she tried to put her own daughter in a coveted student government position — sparking fury among parents and teachers.In a letter to families Thursday, Arielle Curry, who leads Washington Elementary School in Santa Barbara, acknowledged manipulating the outcome of two student government races, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story Curry admitted she intervened after ballots were counted, resulting in two candidates who finished second being awarded positions instead of the winners chosen by their classmates.One of those positions was sixth-grade president, which went to Curry’s own child.Curry was placed on administrative leave on Sept.

28 after her scheme was discovered.“I led deliberations after the student votes were tallied that resulted in overriding the outcome of two positions,” Curry wrote in her letter to families, according to The Independent.She apologized “for allowing this practice to persist” and acknowledged that “our school’s process for selecting student officers lacks transparency and fairness.”Curry also pledged to overhaul the election process, writing, “I am committed to making this right moving forward.”But her return to the school Friday did little to quell the turmoil, with parents and teachers describing a campus divided by the controversy, accusations of mistreatment and emotional confrontations.One parent and one teacher, who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity, said tensions had spilled over into the school community, with students and staff experiencing ...