BROOKESVILLE, Fla. — The majority of Hernando County School Board members still have confidence in the leadership of Superintendent John Stratton despite several recent controversies.
After a marathon-length meeting, two board members — Mark Johnson and Shannon Rodriguez — voiced support for a vote of “no confidence” in Stratton’s leadership, but that vote failed two to three.
The vote happened minutes past 2 a.m. Wednesday in a board meeting that started at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Close to five hours of the meeting was dedicated to comments from the public.
Stratton’s supporters painted him as an unwavering ally to teachers and students. Those who spoke against him decried his communication and leadership during the recent controversies.
One of the controversies was the investigation of Jenna Barbee, a Hernando County teacher who showed the Disney movie “Strange World” to her 5th-grade class at Winding Water K-8.
The animated movie, which follows the adventure of a family of explorers as they attempt to save their world, features a gay teenager as one of its protagonists.
In a previous interview with ABC Action News, Barbee said she let the class watch the movie not because of the gay character but because it related to her curriculum about earth science.
According to a document attached to the Tuesday meeting’s agenda, Barbee is set to resign from the district in early June along with 48 other instructional staff members.
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Hernando County School Board member Rodriguez reported Barbee to the Florida Department of Education to determine if Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education Act was violated.
Rodriguez, who has a daughter in Barbee’s class, has said Barbee should have gotten the movie approved by school administration before it was shown to students.
“You showed a movie that wasn’t sanctioned school material. Thus stripping the innocence of my 10-year-old," Rodriguez said in a school board meeting on May 9.
Barbee, however, has said there was no process in place for clearing specific movies.
Another recent controversy, which also sparked passionate comments during the board meeting, involved a teacher at Fox Chapel Middle School.
According to a Hernando County Sheriff's Officer report, deputies confiscated guns from a Fox Chapel teacher's home after she told the "assistant principal" that she was "having bad thoughts" and "wanted to shoot some students."
Some board members felt Stratton did not properly handle that controversy nor communicate effectively with the board.
Tuesday, three state lawmakers asked Stratton to resign.
During the board meeting, some of the speakers also criticized Stratton’s leadership and denounced what they called a “woke” ideology that they believe has become prevalent in the district’s schools.
"So how you parent is your business,” said one parent, Suzanne Campanaro. “You want to teach them about transgender, that's fine. They can learn that at home. If you want these books that they complain about is being taken out of the schools, buy them yourself on Amazon, but leave my children to learn how they need to learn."
More than a hundred people, however, wore green and yellow shirts in support of Stratton during the Tuesday meeting. They spoke in support of a teacher's right to teach, as so many resign from their posts at district schools. They also spoke in support of inclusion.
"Instead of representing me and other LGBTQ+ students — because, yes, we exist — you instead have alienated and made us feel our entire existence is an issue to you. My existence should not be an issue to you,” said Robert Kordon, a student.
In his comments before the “no confidence” vote failed, Stratton defended his record as superintendent, said he has effectively communicated with board members, assured he supports parental rights, and said he and his staff members follow the law while promoting an accepting environment.
“You’re not a groomer because you accept everyone,” Stratton said. “We’re public education.”
He said he hopes the summer break will serve as a hard reset for the district to "get something back on track."
