Edgemont Elementary School’s principal and assistant principal are reinstated following investigation

PROVO — Two Provo City School District employees were reinstated following an investigation involving a principal and assistant principal.

Edgemont Elementary School’s principal, Harmony Kartchner, and assistant principal, Desiree Olsen were placed on paid administrative leave for unexplained reasons on Feb. 13.

Principal and assistant principal at Edgemont Elementary placed on administrative leave

At the time, the district only told KSL TV that it was part of “an active investigation.”

The two were reinstated and the district said “There were no findings warranting disciplinary action for either employee.”

Provo City School District released the following statement Wednesday:

“After completing a thorough investigation regarding reported concerns at Edgemont Elementary School, we are pleased to report that there were no findings warranting disciplinary action for either employee.  Therefore, Principal Harmony Kartchner and Assistant Principal Desiree Olsen have been reinstated to their positions and responsibilities at Edgemont Elementary School effective this morning.

“We appreciate the community and school personnel’s patience as we ensured a thorough and fair process for all parties involved. We know this process felt long and that it took a toll on our students, staff, and community. We are grateful for the time and attention paid to this matter so we could ensure the evidence on both sides was evaluated thoroughly and appropriately before interpreting the findings and determining an outcome. We know there are many questions that remain. As much as we would like to answer questions in detail about this investigation, we must retain confidentiality and cannot comment further on specifics of the complaints, evidence, or findings because it is a Human Resources issue. We know this may be  frustrating, but we hope you will understand our position as we protect all who were involved in this process.

“Edgemont Elementary is a top-performing school in our community and in Utah. We look forward to the continued success of the students and school under the leadership of Principal Kartchner and Assistant Principal Olsen.”

The school district did not explain why the two were under investigation. KSL TV submitted a public records request to the district for additional information and documents related to the investigation which was denied. The district denied the records request stating that those documents would be considered private.