TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Clay County School District was notified Wednesday that the Florida Department of Education's inspector general and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents are investigating allegations against Superintendent Charlie Van Zant Jr. made by a district employee.
Van Zant Jr. said earlier this week that that he "flatly denies" the accusations of fraud and plagiarism made against him by a former high school principal.
In an interview with News4Jax Monday, Van Zant, who is running for re-election, has fought back following what he calls a pack of lies and gutter politics at its worst.
"These liars, again, are trying to take me to task for my principles and values that they can't stand," Van Zant said.
School board members fought last week over how to handle the claims, with the board chair deciding the school board would not be allowed to hold an open hearing about the matter. School board members Janice Kerekes and Carol Studdard expressed concerns after the special meeting to discuss the accusations was canceled. Van Zant said that's absolutely proper because employees in the district have a right to confidentiality.
The board met Thursday night in a regularly scheduled meeting. The matter was not on the agenda, but board chair Johnna McKinnon began the meeting by bringing up what she called the "elephant in the room."
McKinnon said the district attorneys have advised the school board that it cannot discuss the allegations, since it involves school employees who have a right to due process. That sparked debated between board members who oppose Van Zant and board members who said the issue can't be discussed.
McKinnon: "Ms. Kerekes, I'm sorry. You are out of order."
Kerekes: "No, I'm sorry. I have the floor through Robert's Rules of Order. I'm not discussing it. I'm not discussing employees' names. I want the record to reflect you removed this in violation of school board policy."
School board member Betsy Condon: "I'm speaking."
Kerekes: "Well, calm down over here."
Condon: "Because you cut off everybody, Ms. Kerekes. What I'm saying is we need to follow our policies the way they are written. That's what the statute says school board members need to do. Our policies are written to allow us to decide that."
McKinnon: "Ladies."
Kerekes: "Are you done?"
McKinnon: "That's enough. That's enough. Ms. Kerekes, we are going to save this for the end. There is a school board meeting we need to get on with. We'll get through it."
Kerekes: "Ms. McKinnon, are you prepared to do this as one individual board member taking action?"
McKinnon: "Ms. Kerekes."
Kerekes: "Are you prepared to answer one individual board member taking action?"
Members of the public let the school board know at the meeting that they are not happy about the apparent civil war between Clay County school leadership.
"I think it's time you act like the professional, responsible, reasonable elected officials that we hired you to be. Apologize to Superintendent Van Zant and the public that you've misled," said an unnamed member of the public. "We elected you all to represent Clay County citizens and children. How in the world did you all get so far off track? It sickens me. But like I've said before, we vote you in, we vote you out. And I'm here to tell you, the citizens of Clay County, I'm encouraging you to go to the polls and vote."
Because members of the school board and the superintendent are elected officials, the district does not have the authority to investigate their conduct. According to Florida law, a sworn complaint with the Commission on Ethics is required to initiate an investigation into conduct of elected officials.
"District administrators have consistently maintained that these claims are false. We welcome the opportunity to put these allegations to rest and will cooperate to the fullest extent with investigators," district communications coordinator Lauren Bankert said in a statement Thursday. "Since a third-party investigation is now underway, the district will not provide any further comment until the investigative agencies have concluded their review and reported their findings."
The allegations were made public just days before voting started in a primary election in which Van Zant is opposed by fellow Republican Addison Davis, independent candidate Rebekah Shively and a write-in candidate.
Davis told News4Jax that the allegations do not benefit him.
READ: Addison Davis responds Clay County superintendent
"If you're asking, does it benefit Addison Davis? The answer is absolutely not," Davis said. "It shouldn't be about whether Addison Davis benefits from it. It should be about what we're offering Clay County students."
Van Zant sent a letter Monday to the Florida Commission on Ethics, urging an investigation. He said it would clearly vindicate him, but said the timing works to his opponents' favor, not offering enough time for an independent investigation to happen.
READ: Van Zant's timeline of events | Van Zant's letter to Florida Commission on Ethics
WATCH: Van Zant responds to allegations
Former Florida Commissioner of Education Jim Horne supports Van Zant. He told News4Jax that he blames the teachers union, saying it's engaged in a power play in Clay County.
"And that's what this is all about. This is about power. And they are the puppeteer. The puppets in this case, are a couple school board members -- Studdard and Kerekes. And they've also kind of adopted this person from Jacksonville, Addison Davis, to try and bring him along because they know that they can control those people. And they can move this sort of federal plan in education. And we're beginning to see them in different places in the state and we certainly don't want to see (them) in Clay County," Horne said.
Open letter sparks controversy
In an open letter to the school board, former Keystone Heights High School principal Dr. Susan Sailor accused Van Zant of falsely labeling students with learning disabilities and forcing staff to write papers that he used to complete his master's degree.
READ: Open letter from Dr. Susan Sailor to school board | Research paper from Sailor
Sailor, who was Florida's teacher of the year in 1997, told News4Jax on Friday that she has supported Van Zant in the past, even giving money to his past and current campaign, but she said she's now appalled by his actions.
READ: Clay County Education Association represents Sailor
School board member Janice Kerekes, who represents District 1, called for a full-scale investigation into the allegations and requested that the board discuss and take action regarding the open letter at its next meeting, on Thursday. Instead, Johnna McKinnon, the board's chair, decided to hold a special board meeting to review the issues raised in the letter, but the meeting was canceled.
Kerekes said the accusations were also put on the agenda to be discussed at the next school board meeting, but McKinnon removed the item.
Sailor said she wrote a research paper last year under the guise it was for the school system, but she now believes it was turned in to Regent University as part of Van Zant's master's degree. She said Van Zant asked for MLA citations and gave her four or five textbooks from Regent University to use.
Kerekes said having senior staff “literally do his homework” would be “appallingly unethical” for Van Zant, and it could be both a state and federal offense to falsely label students as Exceptional Student Education, which means they require special accommodation and increased funding for the district.