JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A fourth teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts has been removed from the classroom.
The principal of the school alerted parents Tuesday that Corey Thayer had been reassigned based on information received during its ongoing investigation. Thayer is chair of the cinematic arts department.
The state also sent a scathing letter to Duval Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene Tuesday, accusing her of failing to report teacher misconduct to the state in a timely manner and threatening to slash her salary.
The letter said Duval Schools failed to report 50 cases to the state’s Office of Professional Practices Services dating back to 2020 in a timely manner. The letter said the cases were reported Friday. News4JAX does not know what the 50 complaints entail and has reached out to the Florida Department of Education and Duval County Public Schools for more information. The commissioner said delays in reporting are unacceptable, but some are skeptical the accusations are politically motivated.
Three News4JAX sources told the I-TEAM last week that Dr. Greene’s job could be in jeopardy.
The letter comes a day before the school board is meeting to discuss the hiring of an outside attorney to investigate concerns that school leaders at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts didn’t properly follow up on complaints about a longtime music teacher who was arrested last month on a charge of lascivious behavior involving a student.
In the letter, which is dated April 25, Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said the state department of education found DCPS had previously investigated music teacher Jeffrey Clayton, who is now facing criminal charges, dating as far back as 2006 without reporting the allegations to the state’s Office of Professional Practices Services (PPS).
PPS investigates misconduct by licensed educators to determine if they have broken the law or violated the Principles of Professional Conduct.
Diaz also wrote that on Friday, the district reported 50 cases to PPS that span the past three school years.
Diaz wrote, “It is completely unacceptable that DCPS did not timely report these cases as required by Florida Statute.”
He said Florida law requires school districts to report “legally sufficient” complaints to the Department within 30 days of the complaint coming to the district’s attention. He said superintendents who don’t comply can be penalized with a one-year forfeiture of their salary.
The letter said criminal offenses must be reported to PPS within 24 hours of an individual’s arrest or conviction, and Clayton was reported to PPS the month he was arrested.
Dr. Greene released a statement on Tuesday regarding the commissioner’s letter.
I was surprised and angered to learn from Commissioner Diaz that our office of professional standards apparently was in possession of 50 delinquent case files, which they recently sent to the state office of professional practices.
Our most recent state operational audit reviewed the effectiveness of board policies and district procedures in investigations and reporting of ethical conduct of instructional personnel and school administrators. There were no audit findings on this topic in the January 2023 report. Therefore, until receiving the commissioner’s letter, I had no indication that we were out of compliance with any file.
I agree completely with the commissioner that delays in reporting cannot be tolerated. We will look into this matter further and take appropriate action following our review.
Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene
Board member Lori Hershey said the letter was “very concerning.” Another school board member, Warren Jones, said, “It’s obvious” Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to see Dr. Greene removed and that he wants to find out “what’s true and what’s propaganda.”
School board Chairwoman Dr. Kelly Coker said she’s “deeply troubled” to learn the district only recently sent those dozens of cases to PPS. She released a statement today, saying: “The timely reporting of any violation to the FDOE is crucial in how we safeguard students. The timeline for reporting is also clearly outlined in state statute, and our Board has every expectation that our district will adhere to the laws which govern our work with students.”
She went on to say, “The children of Duval County deserve better, and as a Board, we want to assure our community that the security and safety of their children in our schools will always be our number one priority.”
The board chair said she is confident this topic will be a part of the discussion in the Special Board Meeting she’s called Wednesday afternoon.
News4JAX reached out to the governor’s office about what board member Jones said about the governor wanting Dr. Greene removed. A spokesperson for the governor referred us to the Department of Education.