PETITION TO FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS FOR REMOVAL OF HERNANDO COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT

We, the parents, grandparents, friends, and students of Fox Chapel Middle School hereby petition the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis, and the Commissioner of the Florida Dept. of Education, Manny Diaz, to remove Hernando County School District, Superintendent John Stratton, School Board Chair Gus Guadagnino, School Board Vice Chair Susan Duval, and District 2 (Fox Chapel) School Board member, Linda Prescott, from their positions, effective immediately.

On March 24, 2023, Fox Chapel Middle School teacher Ashlee Belle (a biological male that identifies as a female) had a psychotic episode in which he made threats of violence against his own students (Stated that he wanted to shoot his own students). According to the police report (attached), this teacher often has suicidal thoughts. The District and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office were immediately notified by the School Principal and actions were taken right away. Unfortunately, while the District was quick to act in response to this threat, it wasn't until 17 days later that parents found out what had occurred.

While parents were left in the dark, this teacher was placed right back into the classroom after a rushed investigation by the District. So for 17 days, this unstable individual (see the police report) was left around children, and parents were not notified.

The delay in notification was due to a "cover-up" that involved District administration as well as ranking members of the School Board and other agencies.

Parents and the community were unaware until a local reporter first broke this story thanks to a tip by an anonymous source. The District immediately told the public that the article was not true... that there was no investigation... and that no threat to the school or community was made. In short, the District Administration not only actively engaged in a "cover-up" but also mislead parents about a serious safety threat to their children.

While the threat to Fox Chapel was made before the Nashville Covievnent School Shooting, the subsequent cover-up by the Hernando County School District was done in the wake of this tragedy.

On April 11, 2023, Fox Chapel parents packed the regularly scheduled bi-weekly meeting of the Hernando County School Board to demand answers from Superintendent Stratton and from the Board, namely Board member Linda Prescott whose District includes Fox Chapel Middle School. Sadly instead of receiving clarification about what had occurred, Superintendent Stratton and the entire School Board, with the exception of Mrs. Rodriguez, stonewalled parents and refused to say that anything had occurred, if their children were in danger, let alone if a threat was even made.

The next day the Hernando County Sheriff's Office released the first of two reports, which confirmed that Ashlee Belle did in fact make threats against his students. Later on April 14th, the second MHRPO report (Mental Health - Risk Protective Order) was released which further detailed how this teacher was not only a serious threat to themselves, but to others. The reports also informed the public that the Sherriffs Office found the threat serious enough to remove the teacher's firearms for a year. Keep in mind that the local Chapter of Moms For Liberty along with local, state, and national media made this information available to parents, at no time did the District make any effort to do the same. To date, the District has yet to issue any explanation or even acknowledge the concerns of parents regarding this serious matter.

The clear malicious intent of Superintendent Stratton, his staff, and Board Members Guadagnino, Duval, and Prescott in concealing the seriousness of this incident, including its mere existence, not only from the parents, public, and media, but even other Board members should be grounds enough to remove them from the District immediately.

We the undersigned are hereby demanding that this matter be taken seriously and that in addition to the removal of the aforementioned Hernando County School District staff and elected officials, an FDLE investigation be conducted to determine the scope of the "cover-up" regarding what occurred at Fox Chapel Middle School.

Hernando County parents have lost all confidence in the School District to take the safety of their children seriously, and given the "cover-up" which is technically still ongoing, examples need to be made to prevent this from happening again.