Buckeye Union High seeks new principal after firing

Buckeye Union High School seeks a new interim principal to fill the seat left behind by Joseph Kinney, who was terminated last night.

Kinney was arrested Sept. 3 on charges of luring a minor for sex after allegedly engaging in sexually explicit conversation with an FBI agent posing as a minor on the app Whisper. The case, however, was turned down by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office yesterday.

Academic Assistant Principal Kristin Koke is filling the role of principal in the interim, according to a Sept. 3 press release from the school. Superintendent Dr. Steve Bebee told InBuckeye that she will not be serving in the position full-time, however, and the district is actively seeking a new interim principal as of today.

"The plan is to hire, hopefully, a retiree who has been a principal before," he said. "Right now, I'm just looking for somebody to come in and be a support and fulfill that responsibility."

The interim principal position would run from October through May, after which a new permanent principal would be hired with a start date of July 1. It's difficult to hire permanent principals during the school year, Bebee noted, and waiting until the spring will allow for a more robust applicant pool.

Bebee declined to comment on Kinney's case being turned down, his reason being that Kinney is no longer an employee with the school.