JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Duval County School Board was going to meet Friday afternoon for a special meeting to discuss the ongoing controversy over teacher misconduct at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
Dr. Kelly Coker, Chairwoman of the Duval County School Board, sent out this statement less than an hour before the meeting was supposed to start.
At the request of the Office of General Counsel, the special meeting of the Duval County School Board scheduled for today (April 28, 2023) has been postponed due to pending legal matters.
I will provide information about rescheduling the meeting after further consultation with the Office of General Counsel.
Many are concerned that Dr. Diana Greene’s job could be in jeopardy.
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Meantime, The NAACP is coming out in Dr. Greene’s defense. The local chapter of the NAACP sent a letter early Friday morning highlighting Dr. Greene’s accomplishments as superintendent.
The letter also said any talks about her potentially losing her job are “outrageous and politically motivated.”
The letter also reads, “It is worth noting that the culture at DASOTA was established by previous school leadership over the past 20 years. The Branch believes these issues may have remained hidden had Dr. Greene continued with the same in-house leadership. The School Board should focus on individuals who failed current and former students that reported these incidents for years and turned a blind eye.”
The investigation began shortly after music teacher Jeffrey Clayton was arrested and charged with lewd behavior involving a student.
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School records have shown school leaders were aware of complaints against Clayton going back many years. Since then, three additional teachers have been removed from the classroom.
The state has also accused the school district of failing to report misconduct in a timely manner. Earlier this week, News4JAX reporter Jim Piggott caught up with Greene and asked what people can expect to see happen moving forward.
“People can expect to see me continue to fight for our students,” Greene said. “Continue to see me address whatever issues may arise. I am in full support of this investigation because if there are things that are wrong in our system, we need to get it fixed and I’m confident that we will resolve these issues and that the school district is going to be a better district for it.”
Earlier this week, people rallied in front of the DCPS building in support of the superintendent.
