Salt Lake City Schools superintendent placed on administrative leave

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City School District superintendent Timothy Gadson III has been placed on paid administrative leave, just over a year after he began the job.

Multiple sources have confirmed the district has asked for his resignation.

A district spokesperson would not release any information as to why Gadson was placed on leave.

Gadson was appointed to the position in Feb. 2021 and spent his first day on the job in Salt Lake City on July 1, 2021.

He has been the subject of multiple complaints throughout his tenure. The complaints ranged from inappropriate travel, to favoritism, to inappropriate workplace behavior.

The district previously spent more than $60,000 to investigate Gadson. The district has refused to publicly release copies of the complaints or the results of that investigation because, as the district claims, there was no disciplinary action taken. FOX 13 News has appealed that decision, questioning the validity of those statements.

Sources say Gadson was given verbal warnings at the time for his behavior.

Gadson is the district's first-ever Black superintendent. He was previously the associate superintendent of high schools with Anoka-Hennepin Schools in Anoka, Minnesota.

As the Salt Lake Tribune reported last month, the head of Utah's chapter of the NAACP asked the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into alleged discrimination and harassment by the Salt Lake City School Board.

"The NAACP will continue moving toward a full investigation against the School Board members. This action today is blatant discrimination against Dr. Gadson and other members of his cabinet who are African Americans," said Jeanetta Williams, President of the Salt Lake City NAACP in a statement.