Educator comes out of retirement to serve as temporary BHS principal
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Two Bainbridge High School principals are now on leave at the Bainbridge Island School District, leading the district to call a former instructor out of retirement.
In a Jan. 22 email to the BHS and school district community, BISD superintendent Amii Thompson announced that associate principal Amalia Gonzalez-Kahn will be taking a three-week leave of absence from her position for a family matter. Gonzalez-Kahn’s departure overlaps with current high school principal Kristina Rodgers’ leave, following her arrest Jan. 12 for an alleged DUI.
“BHS is a close-knit community, and we remain committed to supporting our students and staff. We are moving thoughtfully through next steps pertaining to leadership at the high school and will share additional information when it becomes available,” said Thompson.
Warren Read, retired associate principal of BHS, Sakai Intermediate School, Halilts Elementary School and longtime educator in the BI school system, will step out of retirement to serve as temporary associate principal at BHS.
“Warren brings a wealth of experience and familiarity with our school community, and we are grateful to have him back during this interim period,” Thompson said.
The district also updated two of its official leave policies at the Jan. 29 school board meeting, in order to align with district collective bargaining agreements, district practice and state and federal laws: one for personnel and one for discretionary situations or emergencies.
The new language in the existing personnel leave policy specifies that staff who take non-protected leaves longer than 20 days will be entitled to a position in the district, if one is available, but not necessarily their former position.
BISD’s policy on leaves for emergency and discretionary situations is new, and clarifies that emergency leave includes care for family members, domestic violence and bereavement. In discretionary situations, the superintendent may now grant unpaid leaves up to the beginning of the next school term or a calendar year, and leaves of absence for up to one school year upon application. Staff on a leave of absence will not receive pay or benefits, and must pay for their insurance out-of-pocket if they want to stay enrolled.
“Leaves of absence will be granted only when they will not have an undesirable impact upon the educational program or business operations,” reads the policy.
