JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Supporters of Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Diana Greene gathered to support her Monday night at Duval County District Schools headquarters amid concerns that her job may be at risk.
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Doctor Diana Greene is under fire after longtime DA vocal teacher Jeffrey Clayton was arrested while at school and charged with lewd or lascivious touching of a minor. Soon after his arrest, two other teachers were removed from DA classrooms while under investigation for classroom misconduct.
It also comes ahead of a Wednesday meeting called by the School Board specifically to discuss the crisis at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
"When DCPS is under attack what do we do? Standup, fight back. When our superintendent is under attack what do we do? Standup, fight back," supporters chanted.
Many stood at the front doors of DCPS, chanting in defense of Superintendent Diana Greene. They argued letting her go won't solve the underlying issue stemming from years before she was superintendent.
"She is the first black female superintendent in Duval County, and we cannot allow her to suffer for the failure of a system," Former DCPS school board member Elizabeth Anderson said.
Former Duval County Public Schools Board Member Elizabeth Anderson says she feels Greene is getting blamed for years of misconduct complaints. Former Douglas Anderson school teacher Jeffrey Clayton started his career with Duval County Public Schools in 2000 but documents show investigations into his behavior began as early as 2006, about 12 years before Greene was named superintendent.
"The reality is he should have been removed a long, long time ago. What I find concerning is that even though the district police were the ones who actually made the arrest, and took the two allegations made under Dr. Greene's leadership Seriously, she is the one that seems to be scapegoated," Anderson said.
Since Clayton's arrest, the School District has been inundated with complaints by former and current teachers and students who say their complaints about Clayton over the years were ignored. Clayton's discipline file shows he was disciplined twice for inappropriate physical contact with a student -- in 2016 and 2021 -- in addition to other discipline.
School Board Chair Dr. Kelly Coker said she was "appalled to know that district leadership was aware of this teacher’s behavior as recently as 2021," a seeming barb aimed at Greene.
There are also concerns about whether the 2021 incident was reported as required. the vice chancellor of the state’s Office of Safe Schools sent Greene a letter Wednesday saying it had not been notified of the 2021 incident, and giving the district five days to respond.
The district's underreporting of campus crimes was the subject of a scathing grand jury report in 2019 that said former chief of the Duval County Schools Police Department, Micheal P. Edwards deliberately manipulated and underreported criminal activity taking place on school grounds without regard for student safety.
A majority of complaints against Clayton were from students, parents or colleagues about “inappropriate behavior” or “communication” with students.
The complaints suggest a pattern of comments about girls looking "hot" or "beautiful," touching or rubbing their bodies, and interacting or attempting to interact with them in one-on-one or out-of-school activities.
A 2010 evaluation noted he need to maintain "greater professional distance from his students.”
School Board Chairperson Kelly Coker issued the following statement Thursday:
As chair of this school board, I’m appalled to know that district leadership was aware of this teacher’s behavior as recently as 2021. While we have begun the process of hiring external legal counsel to investigate the Clayton incident, I am convening a meeting of the school board for next week. We are the officials entrusted by parents, voters, and taxpayers to take care of children, and I have every confidence that this board will take the actions it needs to take to accomplish that goal.
Juanita Powell-Williams says Greene has had many accomplishments, including being name Florida’s superintendent of the year in 2021 and should have the opportunity to continue her role.
"We should be focused on the job she has done, not something that has come through the years that she had, she had no inkling of until now. She has had no opportunity to deal with it until now. So, give her the opportunity to deal with that situation," Supporter Juanita Powell-Williams said.
There have been no overt threats on Greene's job, but her supporters are worried that the cascade of issues is accumulating. And it's not an easy time to be a superintendent in Florida. Five superintendents have been removed since the November elections, most recently in Flagler County, following a political shakeup led by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Superintendent Greene had been scheduled to hold a Q&A session with parents and community members at Jean Ribault High School Monday evening, but the event was postponed.
There is a district meeting Wednesday to look at hiring a third party counsel but no personnel decisions are on the agenda.
Greene has been the superintendent in Duval since July 1, 2018. Her contract runs through June 2025.
