In the aftermath of two incidents at two separate schools in Hernando County, Florida, regarding LGBT issues, the divide between advocates and critics has deepened and tensions between both sides have become more heated.
The most recent incident involves fifth grade teacher Jenna Barbee, a first time teacher at Winding Waters K–8.
One of the students who was in the classroom is the daughter of school board member Shannon Rodriguez.
Rodriguez reported the incident to the Florida Department of Education. An investigation ensued.
In a nearly 7-minute video posted to social media, Barbee explained why she showed the movie, insisting she chose it because of its environmental message, a topic being covered in the earth science unit in her class.
Rodriguez didn’t buy it.
“You showed a movie that wasn’t sanctioned school material, thus stripping the innocence of my 10-year-old. Not your 10-year-old,” Rodriguez told Barbee at a May 9 school board meeting after Barbee spoke during public comment. “I did not give you that right. It’s my child.”
Teacher Threatens Students
There was another incident in a Hernando County school in March that angered parents.
During the April 11 Hernando County School Board meeting, teachers and administrators stacked the room before members of the general public were permitted inside. The few angry parents who managed to claim a seat demanded answers from Hernando County School District Superintendent John Stratton.
‘#Stratton Stays’
As expected, the turnout for the 6 p.m. Hernando County School Board meeting on May 30 was tremendous.On May 19, the Hernando County School District issued a press release saying the meeting would be moved from the normal venue at the Hernando County Public School District building to the campus theater at Hernando High School to accommodate the large number of people who were expected to attend due to media attention about the issue.
The district also implemented additional security measures, such as ensuring the presence of additional law enforcement and school guardians, installing a metal detector at the entrance, and prohibiting attendees from bringing in purses, bags, or backpacks.
Members of the media were advised that their equipment bags would be “searched prior to entering the theater.”
Tempers have been simmering in Hernando County since an April 25 school board meeting, where teachers and administrators filled most of the seats in the 80-person capacity room before members of the general public were even allowed inside. During public comments, teachers and administrators defended Stratton and Renczkowski, the transgender teacher at the center of the Fox Chapel controversy. They also condemned concerned parents, accusing them of spreading “disinformation.”
That scenario played out again on May 30 in greater volume.
By 4:30 p.m., an hour and a half prior to the start of the meeting, hundreds of people bore the Florida summer heat to stand in line. The overwhelming majority of them were teachers, administrators, union members, and students. They were easily recognized by their rainbow attire or matching, preprinted lime green or yellow T-shirts bearing the same message: “#Stratton Stays.”
Community Members Share Thoughts
The Epoch Times spoke with some of the people in line as they waited for the doors to open.Yvette Benarroch, a Moms for Liberty member, was there to show support for Rodriguez.
“Her daughter reported to her what was happening in the classroom and Ms. Rodriguez reported it to the state,” Benarroch told The Epoch Times. “Now, because of that, they want to petition to remove her. The daughter’s being bullied. We should never allow for a child to be bullied or for somebody to be removed from their position just because somebody did the right thing. So we’re standing here in support of Shannon Rodriguez.”
Susan Pribil, a retired teacher who taught in the Hernando County School District for 37 years, said she came in support of the superintendent.
“John Stratton is the most amazing superintendent we’ve ever had and I would hate to see people listen to disinformation and get rid of him,” she told The Epoch Times.
Opposition
Mary Mazzuco of Weeki Wachi told The Epoch Times she was there “because the state of Florida and the Legislature stated that certain things are not to be allowed in public schools.”“That whole woke agenda shouldn’t be taught in schools,” Mazzuco said. “So if you have those thoughts and ideas, leave them at home.”
Ed Banderleelie suggested to The Epoch Times that the meeting was “not about Barbee being a bad teacher,” it was “about Stratton not fulfilling his responsibility after the disaster at Fox Chapel where a teacher threatened to murder himself and kids.”
Joseph Bristol, a union member and a teacher at West Hernando Middle School, told The Epoch Times that he has personally been “called out” by members of the school board for having pride flags hanging in his classroom. “Being here means more to me,” he said.
Kathryn Birren, a Hernando County resident and member of Mom’s for Liberty, told The Epoch Times she has “major concerns about the pornography that’s being allowed to stay in the school libraries.”
Another attendee, Dawn Allen, said that “common sense has been lost in this county and I fear that it’s not coming back.”
“The biggest problem I have is that people are looking at this from left or right, Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, but this comes down to children and their education,” Allen said. “At the end of the day, everything else is clouding all of that. Where is the common sense when a teacher threatens students, threatens their lives, and nothing is said for three weeks? The teacher’s not even pulled from the school. If you look at it objectively and don’t look at it through a political lens, the problems are obvious.”
‘We Are Failing’
Inside the Hernando County High School theater, people waited anxiously for the meeting to start. Every one of the venue’s 507 seats were taken. The walls were lined with law enforcement and district employees serving as security, along with camera crews and news reporters.When Stratton appeared on the stage, teachers, administrators, and students cheered with a deafening roar. Each time they saw Rodriguez, they would boo and hiss with equal enthusiasm.
Once the meeting started, Hernando County School Board Chair Gus Guadagnino advised attendees that clapping was prohibited during public comments. However, he said he would allow them two seconds to wave their hands in the air above their heads.
Of the 11 people who filled out green forms to address agenda items during public comments, five people—students and teachers—complained about books that were banned in accordance with Florida laws. To address topics not on the agenda, an unprecedented 120 people filled out the requisite pink forms. To accommodate them all, a motion had to be passed to add time for public comments. It was decided they would add whatever time was needed to allow each person to speak for their allotted three minutes.
The majority of those speakers—students, administrators, union members, and teachers—complained about the treatment of teachers like Renzcowski and Barbee and they praised Stratton for his caring leadership.
Barbee herself came to speak, wearing a bright orange costume while she read a lengthy poem she wrote based on another animated movie, “The Lorax,” an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book of the same name.
“The human is inherently here for greed,” she read in part, adding that, “as a collective, I will tell you we are failing.”
“The system is broken. The earth is wailing. Let the students read and learn. Let the teachers teach. Everyone deserves to be represented and that’s what we need to preach.”
When she concluded her poem, her supporters waved their hands in silent yet somewhat subdued approval.
‘Change Is Needed’
Despite the impressive show of support shown for Stratton by teachers, administrators, and students, he is also facing calls for his resignation.For the April 25 school board meeting at Hernando County, Janice Crisp drove over 100 miles from Brevard County to share her thoughts. She began with a message for Stratton.
“I want to thank you for withdrawing today because the biggest reason I came here was to tell you we didn’t want you,” Crisp said.
Stratton was visibly shocked. Teachers, administrators, and union members gasped.
Citing the Fox Chapel incident, Brevard County School Board Member Gene Trent had voiced opposition to Stratton’s consideration. Trent confirmed to The Epoch Times that he planned to make a motion to remove Stratton from the running if he didn’t withdraw voluntarily.
More troublesome for Stratton is the statement issued by three Republican state legislators just hours before the May 30 school board meeting.
“Today, we are collectively calling for the resignation of Hernando Schools Superintendent John Stratton,” state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia and state Reps. Jeff Holcomb and John Temple said in a joint statement.
“It is clear to us that Superintendent Stratton has lost the confidence of parents, grandparents, and our community,” they said. “We can no longer sit back and allow the Hernando County school system to make national news for its poor decisions, lack of transparency and accountability, and its contempt for parental rights. Whether it is pornographic material in our schools, not notifying parents when their children may have been around an alleged pedophile, or allowing a teacher back in the classroom after threatening to kill students, it is clear to us that change is needed, and it is needed now.”
