Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

An Arizona high-school principal and the school's athletic director have been put on paid administrative leave over their portrayal of President Donald Trump and his counselor, Kellyanne Conway, in a video posted online that has sparked outrage in the Anthem suburb north of Phoenix.

The Deer Valley Unified School District confirmed the leave of Boulder Creek High School Principal Lauren Sheahan and Athletic Director Jay Kopas in a statement Monday afternoon. The skit was produced and recorded for a faculty meeting and "meant to be light-hearted and entertaining and not disparaging," according to the statement.

Nonetheless, "The District was unaware that it was made and does not endorse it," the statement said.

Although the video was intended for faculty, someone uploaded it to Facebook on Saturday. Sheahan wrote an apology letter to parents and students on Sunday.

In the nearly 7-minute video, Kopas plays Trump and Sheahan portrays Conway. While in character, the pair talk about school news — the choir's upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall, for example — but strays into more incendiary territory:

"OK men and you girls, we're here to make Boulder Creek great again! We're going to drain the jungle and make Boulder Creek great again. We will build the wall around our border and keep those moron parents and weak and loser students out!"

"They can come in and when they come in we're going to vet them. Before those stupid students come in we're going to vet them and their parents."

"Any good students or staff leave, we will make it tough for them and their lives will be a total disaster. If they're athletic, we will break their kneecaps. Who wants those lightweights anyway? They are zeroes."

"The district spent $5,000 on a bulletproof wall in the front office ... We are much safer now, as long as the assailant checks into the front office before coming onto campus."

The Deer Valley Unified School District governing board held its regular meeting on Jan. 24, where nearly 20 members of the public, including some school staff, parents and students, were on hand to speak about the incident and the district's handling of the matter.

The speakers were closely split between support for the school administrators and backing the district actions. Some called for the board to dismiss the two staff members in the video, citing such issues as bullying and the isolation of those students with conservative political ideas. However, those in favor of keeping Sheahan and Kopas on staff spoke to their character and positive influence on students outside of the video.

A Change.org petition calling for Sheahan and Kopas to resign received about 230 signatures in a day.

"The pair covered a lot in their nearly-seven minute performance including building a wall, a dig at the school board, calling out staff members by name and insulting the student body and their families," according to the petition. "The Anthem community is outraged by this video and its insults."

A counterpetition in favor of Sheahan and Kopas keeping their jobs received more than 500 signatures in less than a day.

"The situation with the video has been blown out of proportion by a few individuals with a personal vendetta against these two," that petition stated. "BCHS has a difficult time getting highly qualified teachers and coaches to even apply to our school because of our having a reputation of the parents constantly being on a witch hunt and negative."

Some of the speakers at Tuesday's meeting said the two administrators had received death threats.

The Arizona Republic emailed Sheahan and Kopas for comment Monday afternoon, but the emails were returned as undeliverable.

In Sheahan's apology letter to parents and students, she said the satirical skit was only meant for staff members and was made without malicious intent.