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Alta High Principal Mont Widerberg has notified the school's staff that he is retiring immediately.

Widerberg was placed on administrative leave earlier this week, along with Assistant Principal Mark Montague, while Canyons School District investigates evidence of "serious incidents" of racism at the Sandy school.

Widerberg had planned to leave Alta High at the end of the school year to take a facilities job at the district office. He has not returned several phone messages left this week seeking comment.

"It will be sad to lose him," said Tracy Bennett, a member of the school's community council. "When this all came about, I was actually wondering if he would end up going to the district office or not, so it doesn't catch me by surprise. But it's disappointing."

When he shared his plans for a job switch with the council, Widerberg expressed regret that he no longer would be working with students, she noted.

"He's been a champion of the student who gets left behind," said Bennett, who has watched three of her four children attend Alta. "He has always had the best interest of the students at heart."

Raymond Jenson, a former Bingham High principal who taught at Alta, is serving as interim principal.

Canyons' Office of Civil Rights and Accommodations began investigating Alta High after a junior donned what resembled a Ku Klux Klan hood during a spirit bowl assembly on March 17.

"Our examination of the events at the school that day has uncovered evidence of other very serious incidents that warrant immediate and thorough attention, including appropriate administrative action pending the results of the investigation," Canyons Superintendent David Doty and Board President Tracy Cowdell said in a statement earlier this week.

So far, the district has declined to reveal the nature of the other incidents.

Zack Larsen, a junior at Alta, said Thursday the investigation has made many students anxious and fearful that they might be perceived as racist. Two or three additional Sandy police officers have been at the school this week to provide security.

"I'd like the district and the police and everyone to stop digging about for racism. It's like the Salem witch trials," Larsen said. "A lot of students want to say, Let's just get this done. Let's get this out of the way.' "

But Canyons has not given any timeline for finishing the investigation, which includes looking at racist threats posted on a blog written by a multiracial student at the school who complained about the hood incident. Alta High's student body is 92 percent white, according to fall enrollment counts.

Tony Romanello, a science teacher at Alta, called it "unfortunate" that Widerberg's 30-plus career is ending while questions remain about allegations of racism during his tenure.

"I don't think anybody should assume that because he's chosen to do this, that means he's done anything wrong or improper," Romanello said. "I don't think it's an admission of guilt. It's more of a realization that when allegations like this are all over the press, it's hard to keep your head up."

Widerberg began his education career as a teacher at Hillcrest High 33 years ago, said friend and colleague Paul Argyle, principal of West Jordan High. Argyle, too, was a Hillcrest teacher at the time.

"I twisted his arm, getting him to go into [administration]," Argyle recalled Thursday. "[He is an] outstanding administrator — very fair, very caring. It's a loss to the system to have him gone."

In a statement, Canyons district thanked Widerberg for his decades of service to the patrons and students of both the Jordan and Canyons school districts.