Alliance for Responsible Government publishes “Carlee Simon Dossier”

BY AMBER THIBODAUX

The Alliance for Responsible Government, a grassroots organization of motivated parents and citizens with the purpose of holding local government accountable, recently released a 10-part dossier detailing Alachua County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon’s controversial first year. Simon has faced heavy criticism from both parents and administrators since being hired as the Interim Superintendent last December, most notably because of her defiance of the Florida Department of Health’s requirement that school districts must accept parental opt-out if they impose a mask mandate. Simon manages approximately 4,000 employees and an annual budget of over $477 million.

The dossier begins by outlining numerous reasons why Simon is unqualified for the superintendent position. The district’s minimum qualifications require “at least three years in a senior level leadership position, principal experience (strongly preferred), and leadership experience in a district of 15,000 or more (preferred).” Simon lacks all three of these. Simon was originally appointed on an interim basis until a list of qualified candidates could be gathered, which the board intended to vet and eventually consider. The previous superintendent, Karen Clarke, resigned in November 2020 with the intention of staying through June of 2021 to give the board time to conduct a search, but she was fired on November 30, and shortly thereafter Simon was chosen as interim, with little to no vetting or public input. According to the dossier, Clarke’s removal was triggered by a petition that garnered only 700 signatures; a similar “vote of no confidence” petition aimed at Simon currently has 1,590 signatures.

When Simon was hired, Board Member Gunnar Paulson pointed out that it made no sense to pay Simon’s salary while simultaneously paying Clarke’s severance package. The motion passed 3-2 anyway, with Paulson and Rob Hyatt in dissent.

Diyonne McGraw was later found to be illegally elected to her District 2 seat after it was discovered that her residence is in District 4. Governor Ron DeSantis removed McGraw from the board and appointed Mildred Russell as replacement but had no authority to retroactively reverse McGraw’s prior votes.

After her contract was finalized, Simon wasted no time implementing her “reimagining and reorganizing” agenda. Part 2 of the dossier describes how on May 24, nine long-time district staff members learned about the non-renewal of their contracts via hand-delivered letters. Popular Glen Springs Elementary Principal Deanna Feagin was one of these staff members. Upon her termination, she sent out an email, which stated, in part, “After spending three years with this wonderful school community and 28 years serving our students in this district… the superintendent shared in this letter that I would not be reappointed as an employee of the school board of Alachua County.” Feagin and some of the other terminated staff members were close to eligibility for retirement.

Part 3 discusses Gainesville High School science teacher Joe Waddell, who admitted his intention to discriminate against mask-exempt students on a social media post in early August, 2021. The post read: “Saw the exemption form today. It requires the doctor’s signature, phone number, etc… I just hope they get verified. Maskless students will sit in the back of the class as far away from me and the masked students as possible. Extra credit for wearing a mask too… EDIT TO ADD: I also need to see a list from admin of opted-out students… otherwise they will wear a mask in my class. IDGAF”

Waddell’s comments violate all three principles of ACPS’ Standards of Ethical Conduct, as well as several of the “disciplinary principles” required of instructional staff, which, according to policy 3210, should result in termination.

State Senator Keith Perry sent out a statement in response to Waddell’s post, saying that he found it “appalling that any educator would advocate for harassing their students.” He also called for disciplinary action, but it isn’t clear whether Simon followed through with the recommendation, as Waddell still maintains his job with GHS.

Part 4 is critical of the amount of time Simon has spent in national media appearances and her decision-making. One of Simon’s most controversial moves was personally contacting local physicians to investigate their reasoning behind signing student mask opt-out forms. These violations of medical privacy could be interpreted as a subversion of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Simon went so far as to name a local pediatrician in statements made to The Gainesville Sun, saying, “We are concerned, even for some of the explanations for the justification of why it should be an exemption, and so we are collecting this documentation and we will be submitting it to the medical board.” Local attorney Jeff Childers served Simon with a cease-and-desist letter on behalf of the pediatrician, and Simon responded by claiming she was working on behalf of the school district – thereby potentially implicating the district in civil liability. 

Part 6 highlights additional instances in which Simon ignored rules she found inconvenient, including board policies regarding administrative staff hires. When her potential hires weren’t approved by the school board, she found a way to redefine positions by changing the names – such as renaming Supervisor II Budget (which wasn’t approved) to Director of Budget. These questionable tactics allowed Simon to circumvent the board’s decisions. She’s also been accused of offering salaries to administrative personnel that are not consistent with board-approved salary schedules and procedures.

Part 9 covers the controversy over section 10.3 of Simon’s superintendent contract. The contract requires her to “maintain and keep current a valid certification in administration and supervision or equivalent as issued by the Florida Dept. of Education.” The school board’s attorney, David Delaney, acknowledged the fact that Simon does not have the required certifications; however, in an opinion letter addressed to the school board, he claimed that Simon has not breached the terms of her contract. He argued that one could interpret the meaning of the words “maintain” and “keep current” to conclude that the certification requirement had somehow been waived.

The dossier concludes by illustrating several examples of Simon’s “shocking hypocrisy,” displaying photographs of an unmasked Simon speaking indoors with other unmasked individuals. The author argues that this “do as I say, not as I do” mentality undermines her leadership and shows how “divisive, hypocritical, entrenched and uncompromising” her behavior and attitudes are.

Read the 10-part dossier in its entirety here.