Jared Wright, the former West High School principal who says district leaders pushed him out after he raised alarms about a 2023 student stabbing, is now running for the Salt Lake City school board seat held by Ashley Anderson. The race arrives weeks after the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission issued Wright a formal reprimand on Oct. 1, and as the district braces for another possible round of school closures tied to years of declining enrollment.
Wright resigned from West High roughly two weeks after the Salt Lake City School District placed him on administrative leave on Jan. 10, 2025, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. West High students protested his leave at the time. Months later, in September 2025, Wright testified under oath before the Utah Legislature's Rules Review and General Oversight Committee, accusing district administrators of forcing him out because he pressed for answers about an Oct. 10, 2023 stabbing, in which a male student stabbed a female student in the abdomen with a knife following a planned fight among roughly 10 female students. The student who committed the stabbing was ultimately expelled in accordance with state law, district officials said.
Wright alleged district leaders knew the attacker had a history of violence and prior conflicts with the victim but never told him as West High's principal, and that he was later told to stop raising safety concerns about the school. District officials disputed that account, saying, per the same Tribune report, that to the best of their knowledge the perpetrator did not have past conflicts with the victim. The district has categorically denied retaliating against Wright or his family, even as Wright claimed indirect retaliation against his two daughters through the shutdown of clubs they participated in.
Dueling Testimony and a Formal Reprimand
Wright also said district leaders accused him of falsely certifying hundreds of students for graduation during the 2023-24 school year, an allegation he denied. The following month, district general counsel Elizabeth Grant testified before the same legislative committee, accusing Wright of falsifying transcripts and engaging in unprofessional conduct with the school board, according to the seed reporting. The Salt Lake City School District separately filed a complaint against Wright with the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission, which investigates allegations of educator misconduct.
That complaint culminated this month in a formal reprimand from the commission, issued Oct. 1. State officials said Wright may appeal the reprimand, and they have declined to release related records until a 30-day document release period ends on Oct. 31. A reprimand typically signals a serious violation of educator standards and serves as a flag on an educator's record, often carrying removal requirements, though it does not typically warrant suspending or revoking a license. Such reprimands can stem from repeated or egregious misconduct, including unprofessional communications, testing protocol violations, mismanagement of public funds or failure to make legally required reports. Wright did not respond to the Tribune's repeated requests for comment or questions about the reprimand.
Wright now serves as principal of Granger High School in the Granite School District. On his campaign website, Jared for SLC Schools, he cites 22 years of experience as a teacher, principal and parent in Salt Lake City schools, including stints leading West High, Clayton Middle School and Dilworth Elementary. He says he grew up locally, attending Wasatch, Bryant and West High, and that he and his wife raised five kids who passed through Wasatch, Ensign, Clayton and West High. Wright says he is running to improve trust and make district decisions more transparent and student-centered — claims drawn from his own campaign materials that have not been independently verified.
An Incumbent Focused on Finances and Downsizing
Wright is challenging Ashley Anderson, who has represented Precinct 3, covering parts of the Marmalade, Capitol Hill and Avenues neighborhoods, since 2023. Anderson describes herself as an artist and longtime arts educator in both higher education and K-12 settings, and she currently sits on the board's finance, RDA and Human Sexuality subcommittees, according to the Salt Lake City School District. Before joining the board, she held leadership roles with school community councils and parent-teacher organizations and worked with education and community nonprofits; she also serves on the Utah State Board of Education's Assessment and Accountability Policy Advisory Committee.
Anderson says the district lost $36 million in property tax dollars last year to diverted development projects — a sum she notes equals the general operating cost of 54 elementary schools. She fought for the district to gain a second seat on committees that make those development decisions, and credits the resulting negotiating power with helping secure an agreement she believes will save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over 25 years. She supports downsizing the district's central office, arguing that a smaller administrative footprint would free up tax dollars and help keep neighborhood schools open.
Closures Loom as Enrollment Keeps Sliding
The financial stakes Anderson points to sit against a backdrop of years-long enrollment decline. The district closed four elementary schools ahead of the 2024-25 school year, and officials warned in June 2026 that another round of closures is likely under what the district has described as an overhauled process. Enrollment was expected to fall to 19,700 students in 2023 — less than half what it was in the late 1950s and early 1960s — with K-6 enrollment alone dropping by more than 3,800 students over eight years even as the district kept the same number of elementary schools open, according to Deseret News. A 2022 consulting-firm report tied the decline to gentrification, shrinking household sizes, an aging population and Utah's falling birthrate; the district has closed 37 schools over the preceding 39 years, including 25 during the 1970s alone.
If reelected, Anderson says she wants to keep making progress on those financial issues, invest in reducing student-to-teacher ratios, and allow smaller schools to keep operating. She says a second term would also focus on retaining student-facing staff amid declining birth rates and shrinking revenue, as she works to steer the district toward becoming more student-centered.
How to Vote in the Precinct 3 Race
Salt Lake County voters choosing between Wright and Anderson must return mail ballots to the county clerk by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, or drop them at a ballot dropbox by the same deadline.
