JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM has obtained records showing what led to the departure of a top investigator of the misconduct at Duval County Public Schools, but he said on Tuesday the records don’t tell the full story.
Reginald Johnson, 66, began working at the DCPS Office of Professional Standards in 2014 as an investigator and was promoted to supervisor in 2021.
The Office of Professional Standards is charged with maintaining district discipline records, investigating employee misconduct, communicating with law enforcement, and serving as the point of communication with the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices.
Johnson was placed on leave pending an internal investigation last April after Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz accused DCPS of failing to report 50 cases of misconduct to the state within 30 days, as required by law.
In a letter to then-Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene, Diaz said the cases dated as far back as 2020, but none of them were reported to the state until April 21, 2023.
MORE: Duval Schools reassigns professional standards supervisor amid misconduct reporting probe
Now, we know the outcome of the internal investigation.
A letter from Dr. Greene to Johnson in May of last year obtained by News4JAX shows Johnson faced termination, pending board approval, for the late reporting of the cases. However, he resigned before that board vote was scheduled.
The letter also says an IT review found Johnson had recently deleted many of the files that were sent late, and according to the badge entry system, he had been reporting to the office much earlier than normal during the week when the files were deleted.
Johnson told the I-TEAM on Tuesday he had been coming in so early because he was drowning in work in an understaffed office where cases of misconduct that were supposed to be sent to the state fell through the cracks.
He said it was his audit that uncovered the missing cases and reported them to the state. He said not all of the cases in question were under his purview, but he takes accountability for the ones that were. He said it was an oversight, and he should have done some things differently.
He adamantly denied that he tried to cover anything up, saying deleting files was routine.
Shyla Jenkins, who is a Douglas Anderson alum who’s been pushing for accountability, said she’s not surprised by Johnson’s account.
“This seems to be a pattern, and that’s before Mr. Johnson was a part of the department,” she said. “While I can’t corroborate what he’s saying, I definitely can understand where his frustration lies, because this is a pattern.”
Hiring additional investigators is part of DCPS’ student safety plan released earlier this year.
A spokesperson with the DCPS said they have added two investigators to the Office Of Professional Standards, and they have increased compensation to improve retention.