IN-DEPTH: Transgender Teacher Spoke About Wanting to Shoot Students, Parents Accuse District of ‘Cover-Up’
Petition calls for removal of school board leaders and district superintendent
Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill, Fla., on April 20, 2023. (Patricia Tolson/The Epoch Times)MOREHIDE
By Patricia Tolson
April 21, 2023Updated: April 21, 2023
SHARES | FRIENDS READ FREE
Share
EmailCOMMENTS
0:0014:33
1
It took three weeks for parents to discover that a transgender middle school teacher in Florida confessed to a guidance counselor that the teacher was having “bad thoughts” of self-harm and shooting students.
Now parents are demanding answers, accusing the district of a cover-up, and petitioning Florida’s governor to remove certain members of the Hernando County School Board as well as the superintendent.
Ashlee Renczkowski, a biological male who presents as a female, is the teacher who allegedly made the comments while at the school on March 24.
Kerry Thornton is an assistant principal at Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill, Florida, which is part of the Hernando School District.
According to a report filed with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office by Fox Chapel School Resource Officer Brian Timothy (pdf), Thornton alerted Timothy the afternoon of March 24 that Renczkowski “had just made concerning statements about self-harm and then possibly making statements about shooting students.”
Experience the best way to read The Epoch Times online. Try our free app for a limited time.
Thornton had visited Renczkowski in the classroom and asked how the teacher was doing, according to Timothy’s report. Renczkowski replied, “Not good, I’m having bad thoughts.” Thornton radioed for guidance counselor Kimberly Walby and brought Renczkowski to Walby’s office.
MOST READ
IRS Pays $23 Billion Less in Tax Refunds for 2023 Filing Season, Worrying Americans
Social Media Triggers
In Walby’s office, Renczkowski spoke of “a social media post where people were talking negatively” about Renczkowski’s “sexual orientation,” according to Timothy. He also said that Renczkowski was triggered by social media posts critical of the “sexual orientation and lifestyle” of Renczkowski’s wife, Fawn Renczkowski, who also teaches at the school.Thornton and Walby advised the school resource officer about Renczkowski’s comments.
Renczkowski told Walby about wanting “to shoot some students” because they weren’t performing to their ability, according to the police report. Walby then said Renczkowski recanted the statement. But Walby also “began to reiterate that she has short-term memory issues” and was “starting to second-guess the conversation” when it came to “details and the order of events,” according to Timothy’s report.
RELATED
Man Accused of Shooting 6-Year-Old Girl, Parents Arrested in Florida
Renczkowski also admitted to owning three handguns.
Sandra Hurst, the mental health coordinator for the Hernando School District, traveled to the middle school and met with Renczkowski to conduct a threat assessment. Both Hurst and Thornton agreed that Renczkowski was not an immediate threat to students and therefore could not be involuntarily committed under the Baker Act, but the sheriff’s office did send an officer to Renczkowski’s home that evening to collect the firearms, which Renczkowski surrendered without issue.
In his report about the incident, Timothy said that after meeting with Renczkowski, Hurst “advised that a plan will be devised to meet with Ashlee prior to her returning to work with students. The school principal and Safe Schools was made aware of this incident.”
Parents didn’t learn about the incident until a local reporter named Tom Lemons broke the story on April 7.
An April 17 news release from the district indicated that Renczkowski was not at school March 27–29 but returned to work on March 30. Renczkowski was then teaching in the classroom until April 13, when the Florida Department of Education intervened to have Renczkowski removed.
The Epoch Times contacted Renczkowski for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
‘Respondent May Be Seriously Mentally Ill’
To provide “clarification,” Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis issued a press release on April 12, saying “the investigation revealed that no criminal offense(s) occurred; therefore, no arrest(s) could be made.”Deputies also determined that “the individual did not, at that moment, meet the required criteria for involuntary commitment under the Baker Act.”
But Nienhuis also said, “In an abundance of caution, the HCSO petitioned the court for a temporary Risk Protection Order,” which the court “granted immediately.”
Banners at Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill, Fla., on April 20, 2023. (Patricia Tolson/The Epoch Times)In an April 13 statement, HCSD Superintendent John Stratton said the district was going to “take a hard look at all the actions that were taken on that day, and in the days following the incident, and determine if any steps were missed.”
“As is our longstanding practice, while the matter is under investigation, the teacher will be removed from all student contact,” Stratton assured. No return date has been set.
In response, the Florida Department of Education (DOE) issued its own press release, informing the public that it was only after the DOE expressed concern directly to Stratton that he chose to remove Renczkowski from the school.
In an April 17 news release, Stratton again said that “the district’s threat assessment was conducted by trained Safe Schools staff and the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office” and “all investigating agencies agree the teacher did not meet criteria for imminent harm to self or others.”
However, according to the risk protection order (pdf) obtained by The Epoch Times—“served upon the respondent” on March 28, signed by Renczkowski, and “filed in open court” on April 10—it was determined by the HCSO that “the Respondent may be seriously mentally ill or may have recurring mental health issues.”
Renczkowski was ordered to immediately surrender all firearms, ammunition, and “any license to carry a concealed weapon or firearm,” and the document further ordered that Renczkowski may not possess, purchase, or receive any firearm or weapon for one year.
Parents Want Answers
In the wake of the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, many Fox Chapel parents are afraid. They’re frustrated by the lack of transparency and dismissive responses from the school district.Now, a new petition alleges that “the delay in notification was due to a ‘cover-up’ that involved District administration and ranking members of the School Board and other agencies.”
Kera and Monty Floyd, president and vice president of the Hernando County Chapter of Moms for Liberty. (Courtesy of Monty Floyd)“The clear malicious intent of Superintendent [John] Stratton, his staff, and Board Members [Gus] Guadagnino, [Susan] Duval, and [Linda] 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,” the petition declares.
The petition was started by the Hernando County Chapter of Moms for Liberty. Chapter Vice President Monty Floyd spoke with The Epoch Times.
“We’ve been working with the parents at Fox Chapel, helping them get answers and to find a resolution to this serious problem,” Floyd said. “Until Lemons exposed this in the press 17 days after it happened, parents were left completely in the dark. When we asked the district what happened, we got crickets. They wouldn’t respond to anybody. That shows there was a cover-up in place. Parents are furious. So we showed up at the April 11 school board meeting and demanded answers.”
‘A Hot Mess’
During the April 11 Hernando County School Board meeting, Lemons described how district spokeswoman Karen Jordan denied that the incident occurred when he asked her to confirm the reports. He suggested this was part of an intentional effort to cover up the incident because the teacher involved was transgender.One woman who spoke at the meeting suggested that the district’s slow response “should tell you, it didn’t happen,” proposing that everyone stop attacking public education and start getting along.
Another woman who has children at Fox Chapel said she felt differently. She admonished school officials for giving her the runaround, and she scolded the board for keeping parents “in the dark for weeks.”
Dana Johnson providing comments at the Hernando County school board meeting on April 11, 2023. (Hernando County School District/screenshot)Parent James Looker said he wanted answers so he could decide if he should pull his son out of Fox Chapel, an institution he described as “a hot mess.”
Dana Johnson has two daughters in Fox Chapel. Her husband is an assistant coach. She said she was “kind of baffled” that a teacher who threatened to shoot students was allowed back in the school. She also wondered why the board wasn’t taking the situation more seriously.
Another woman who spoke said her daughter is in Renczkowski’s classroom. She alleged that Renczkowski has a history of mistreating her daughter, specifically saying that “the teacher broke her phone” and that “the door gets slammed in her face and she was given a bloody nose several times from this.”
One man who spoke also has a daughter in Renczkowski’s classroom. He reminded the board that “someone pulled a fire alarm” recently and parents were notified “the day of.” He wondered why they waited two weeks to tell parents that a teacher threatened to shoot his students.
“It’s almost like you guys don’t really care,” the man said.
Administrators Respond
During comments from board members, Mark Johnson deferred to Stratton.Johnson is one of the two new board members who say they were kept in the dark by leadership. Shannon Rodriguez, the other newcomer, confirmed how the ambiguous notices sent by leadership kept her unaware of the seriousness of what happened. She contacted Stratton. He said he “didn’t have any details” in front of him and someone would contact her later. When she was contacted, no more details were given, she said.
Rather than addressing parents’ concerns or answering their questions, Prescott used her time to thank “Mrs. Greenwell for bringing up the art information,” and to encourage students to apply for scholarships.
Then Stratton spoke.
Hernando County School Board Chair Gus Guadagnino (L) and Superintendent John Stratton during a school board meeting on April 11, 2023. (Hernando County School District/screenshot)“I certainly understand in today’s world why you’re here asking about Fox Chapel, I honestly do,” he said, “and I also want to assure you that we take security of our students and our staff very, very, very seriously.”
He then dismissed the accusation by Rodriguez that she had been left in the dark. He pleaded ignorance about the alleged mistreatment of a student by Renczkowski. He denied knowledge of a lockdown, but reiterated that parents weren’t informed about the incident because investigations by Fox Chapel staff and the HCSD had “determined there was not an imminent threat.”
Parents were audibly irritated.
“I need you to trust—” he said, before being cut off by angry chatter.
Duval chose to close the meeting by sharing a video “on the recent district career and technical education event.”
A din of frustration filled the room. Many began to leave.
“If you’re going to leave, do it quietly,” Guadagnino chided.
District Tries to Clarify
On April 17, Stratton issued another press release.“Much has been said, rumored and reported about the March 24th incident,” he said, adding that “facts have been blurred with misinformation resulting in greater confusion.”
“This report,” he said, “is intended to outline the facts of the situation as have come to be known over the course of investigations by the school district and law enforcement.”
Missing from his “timeline of events” is an explanation for the delay in informing parents of Renczkowski’s threat and that Renczkowski wasn’t removed until the DOE stepped in two weeks later.
The debacle at Fox Chapel could affect Stratton professionally.
Stratton is one of four finalists in the running to take over as superintendent of Brevard Public Schools, a much larger district with over 74,000 students compared to Hernando Public Schools’ enrollment of about 24,000 students.
Florida Today reported on April 18 that one board member on the Brevard County School Board opposed the selection of Stratton as a finalist in the hiring process, citing the March 24 incident with Renczkowski.
‘More Systemic Than You Realize’
It has been almost a month since the threat was made.The Epoch Times contacted school board members, asking why parents weren’t immediately informed.
Duval replied by email, saying, “This is a matter still under investigation and as such, I will not be able to comment.”
Johnson responded by phone.
“I think there were a lot of errors from beginning to end,” he told The Epoch Times, saying he and Rodriguez had been “kept more in the dark than the rest of the school board.”
While seeing “a lot of management” regarding the incident, Johnson also sees “a lack of leadership.”
Johnson said the issue of unreported incidents at Fox Chapel “is more systemic than you realize.”
The Epoch Times also reached out to Stratton.
“Because the school district has an open investigation regarding the March 24th incident at Fox Chapel Middle School, no additional information or comment will be made pending the outcome of that investigation,” Jordan, answering on Stratton’s behalf, told The Epoch Times by email.
The Epoch Times advised it was not seeking “additional information” about the incident but rather an answer to a question being asked repeatedly by a growing number of people: “Why weren’t parents immediately notified about this threat?”
Jordan prefaced her second response by quoting the HCSO’s April 12th Media Release:
“On 03-24-23, an event occurred at Fox Chapel Middle School which involved an educator. The event itself, and/or one or more versions of what actually transpired, has brought about much confusion and emotion.”
“Because of the ‘confusion and emotion’ surrounding the incident,” Jordan concluded, “it is vital that the district conducts its investigation in accordance with policy to ensure the final determinations are based on the facts.”
Floyd said it’s a frustrating process trying to get answers from district officials.
“When you ask them a straight question, they give you a word salad,” he said. “They’re trying to cover their backs because they know they did something really wrong.”
