FLEMING ISLAND – The Clay County School Board is moving forward seeking a second investigation into allegations that several principals, staff members and former Superintendent Charles Van Zant Jr. …
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FLEMING ISLAND – The Clay County School Board is moving forward seeking a second investigation into allegations that several principals, staff members and former Superintendent Charles Van Zant Jr. deliberately mislabeled students as disabled to increase graduation rates.
Board Chairwoman Janice Kerekes drafted a letter to the Florida Department of Education Office of Inspector General in response to the vote at the board’s Dec. 15 meeting. The letter is to ask for a review of the original investigation performed by Florida Association of District School Superintendents – which may be viewed as a conflict of interest.
Board members discussed the Kerekes’ letter and possible revisions, but the letter wasn’t made available to the public.
Board attorney Charles “Dan” Sikes told Clay Today that he hadn’t seen the letter and didn’t have a copy of it. Asked if it was legal under the Sunshine Law to discuss and send a letter that the public hasn’t seen, he responded, “I don’t think so.”
Kerekes and current Superintendent Addison Davis pledged to provide Clay Today with a copy of the finished letter.
Susan Sailor, former principal of Keystone Heights Junior-Senior High School and a former Florida Teacher of the Year, made the original allegations on Aug. 4 about Van Zant, other principals and staff manipulating graduation rates.
She also accused Van Zant of asking her and others to write college papers for him when he was pursuing a master’s degree.
Kerekes and Van Zant have a contentious history. She has led the charge in seeking a second investigation. She called a special session on Dec. 5 to discuss requesting a new investigation, citing that the original investigation may have been incomplete. The board voted 5-0 in favor and agreed to send a letter.
Kerekes and board member Carol Studdard said they have heard from people who have information related to the investigation, but they haven’t been interviewed and haven’t spoken out because of fear of retaliation.
“There’s a lot of opinion in this letter,” board member Ashley Gilhousen said during last Thursday's meeting. “This isn’t what we discussed at the special session.”
Although Gilhousen and board member Betsy Condon voted in favor of sending the letter, both women have expressed reservations about it.
“It’s all facts,” Kerekes said in response to Gilhousen. “In my mind, it describes what happened. This is what took place. I think in order to clear the good name of Clay County School District, this issue just needs to be addressed by someone outside,” she said. “They may get the (original) report and find they're happy with it, and this goes no further, then I'm fine with that. I feel like this letter is spot-on, and we already have consensus that we're sending a letter.
“We have a responsibility to act,” Kerekes said. “We’re elected officials, and we can’t bury our head in the sand and expect this is just going to go away. If we try to sugar-coat it, we become part of a cover-up.”
However, Gilhousen pushed back.
“My issue is we’re picking at old scabs,” Gilhousen said. “This interpretation (in the letter) of what went down is your interpretation, and that’s not necessarily the same interpretation I heard from district staff who were involved in this.”
Condon said the letter shouldn’t encourage an investigation, but should allow the Inspector General to determine if a new probe is necessary. Both she and Gilhousen have said they were satisfied with the original investigation.
Kerekes offered to leave Gilhousen’s name off the letter, but Gilhousen said she’d go along with the majority of the board.
Board Vice Chairwoman Carol Studdard – who was elected to a seventh term in November – and board member Mary Bolla have expressed strong support for a second investigation if the Inspector General’s office deems it worthwhile. Bolla had the flu and was not at the Dec. 15 meeting.
Kerekes, Studdard and Bolla are frequently on opposite sides of issues from Gilhousen and Condon. Bolla replaced Johnna McKinnon, with whom Gilhousen and Condon often aligned. McKinnon was a strong ally of Van Zant.
Addison Davis, who defeated Van Zant in the August primary, chose to stay out of last the discussion.
“I'm kind of coming in at the end of the movie on this one,” he said.
Graduation rates for high schools in Clay County reached 84.7 percent, a record high for the county, according to newly released statistics from the Florida Department of Education for the 2015-16 school year. That figure ranks 17th among 67 school districts in the state.
Oakleaf High School's graduation rate increased to 93.6 percent from 92.6 the previous year. Clay High School went from 89.6 to 91 percent. And Keystone Heights High School jumped from 73.8 percent to 82.3.
Fleming Island, Middleburg, Orange Park and Ridgeview high schools saw dips in their graduation rates between 0.2 percent and 3 percent.
Email Christiaan DeFranco at chris@opcfla.com. Follow him on Twitter @cdefranco.