JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County School Board was scheduled to host a 'special meeting' Friday afternoon to discuss recent events at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
However, it was postponed at the last minute due to “pending legal matters.”
Board members planned to discuss issues at the school regarding the removal of several teachers and Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene’s future with the district.
School Board Chairwoman Dr. Kelly Coker released the following statement at 1:38 p.m.:
“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.”
Mother of a Douglas Anderson alumna, Suzanne Jenkins, said controversy surrounding the superintendent has distracted the community from the real problem.
“Keep the focus on what the issue is, which is the investigation,” Jenkins said, “and not have it be hijacked, and that’s how we feel. That it’s been hijacked by a superintendent’s firing or not firing. That’s not the issue.”
Her daughter attended Douglas Anderson in the early 2000s and had former vocal coach Jeffrey Clayton as a teacher. Clayton was arrested in March for lewd behavior with a student and then retired.
In the following weeks, documents revealed the district had investigated him several times on similar complaints.
“I personally complained about him because of the emotional abuse he was putting not only my daughter through, but others as well, and just the punitive way he’d treat kids he didn’t like or didn’t agree with,” Jenkins said.
Greg and Brittany Beimourtrusting planned to attend the meeting. The couple said they were shocked, but optimistic to find out it wouldn’t happen.
“I hope, and I would like to think that it’s because they are doing some of the leg work and actually digging into the root causes of the issues they said they’re going to be addressing. Hopefully it’s not a political game, but only time will tell,” Greg Beimourtrusting said.