Burnet Middle School mourns principal's sudden death

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LeJeune remembered for his love of students, fellow staff

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  • Jeremy LeJeune
    Jeremy LeJeune
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Burnet Consolidated Independent School District students and faculty are bereft following the sudden and unexpected passing of Burnet Middle School Principal Jeremy LeJeune on Sunday, Dec. 6, in an Austin hospital.

“Our hearts go out to Mr. LeJeune’s family, to the Burnet Middle School staff and students, and the larger educational community in which Mr. LeJeune was an active participant,” said Burnet CISD Superintendent Keith McBurnett, who announced news of LeJeune's untimely death in an email to parents and staff members.

“Mr. LeJeune loved his family very much. He was a devout Christian, an avid UT football fan, and he loved being principal of Burnet Middle School and serving the staff and students there.”

LeJeune, who was in his second year at BMS, had long battled a rare blood vessel disorder that required hospital visits and admissions, McBurnett said. The principal had worked on campus Friday, Dec. 4, but at some point, decided during the weekend he needed to go to the hospital for treatment.

While there, he was tested for COVID-19 as part of the admission process and was confirmed to have the novel coronavirus.

“Although he was asymptomatic, it is likely that the virus exacerbated his condition,” McBurnett said of LeJeune, who succumbed to his illness on Sunday evening.

Due to LeJeune having been on campus and in contact with other staff members and students, contact tracing is taking place this week, but McBurnett said “at this time, we do not believe that any students, staff, or visitors will be considered close contacts because safety protocols were followed carefully.

“If someone is deemed as close contact, they will be notified immediately,” McBurnett added.

Grief counselors were on campus Monday to help students and faculty who needed additional support.

LeJeune was hired by Burnet CISD in June 2019 and came to the district after serving four years as principal of Dessau Middle School in Pflugerville ISD, where he was named Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Region 13 Middle School Principal of the Year. LeJeune was recently named president-elect of the TASSP executive board.

Prior to that, LeJeune was an assistant principal at Pflugerville High School, where he earned the TASSP Region 13 Assistant Principal of the Year award. He also was an assistant principal in Orangefield ISD and worked as an athletic trainer and teacher at Luling, Converse Judson and San Antonio MacArthur high schools.

LeJeune earned his bachelor’s degree from what was then Southwest Texas State University in exercise and sports science, and earned his master’s degree in education also from SWTSU, now Texas State. He later earned his principal's certification from Wayland Baptist University in San Antonio.

He and his wife Donna, who is principal at Faubion Elementary School in Cedar Park in Leander ISD, have three daughters.

According to his own biography on the Burnet Middle School website, LeJeune said he was “very proud to be working with the students of Burnet Middle School, and helping them reach success and become life-long learners.”