Update: the word "alleged" has been added to comply with all who were present during the incident.
It has been almost a year following an event at Mesa High School, where several reports allege that Principal Kirk Thomas and Athletic Director David Klecka failed to report an incident involving a firearm on campus.
The incident involved two students in an altercation during a soccer game at the campus. One student reported seeing a gun to Thomas and Klecka. Witnesses also claimed that neither called Mesa Police to report the incident.
The school board on Jan. 12 voted 4-1 to not renew either Klecka or Thomas’s contract with member Sharon Benson dissenting on both votes. Both Thomas and Klecka are on paid administrative leave until further notice, and their contract will not expire until June 30, 2026.
Some members of the public defended Thomas and Klecka at the Jan. 22 governing board meeting.
“Nearly a year later, the district has chosen to reopen a closed matter, not in a way that clarified facts, but in a way that has shaken an entire school community,” said Inger Hubert, a Mesa resident who opposed the board’s decision to not renew Thomas and Klecka’s contracts at the earlier board meeting.
Others saw the decision as a detriment to the entire district and referred to discussions that the board had in previous meetings about students from within the district going to schools in Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert.
“You just gave an entire community a reason to leave Mesa High and to leave the district,” said Melissa Allen, a coach and alum of Mesa High School.
The board did not respond to any comment and Mesa Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment.
To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).
Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.
Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.
Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.
Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here