Message | Shady LCSD

Message to Lee County Residents

The Lee County School District DOES NOT value their teachers, nor do they care about the students of Lee County.

During a teacher shortage, ask the Lee County School District why they will NOT hire a… dedicated, proven, and certified math teacher.

The LCSD needs to explain & clarify the district's employment policies.

Who exactly IS responsible for hiring (and firing) teachers...

is it school administrators, district personnel, or the school board?

To the teachers of Lee County…

I COULD be your coworker.

(To some, I WAS your coworker.)

To the taxpayers of Lee County…

Are your tax dollars being well spent?

Is the LCSD acting responsibly?

To the parents of Lee County students…

I COULD be your child’s teacher.

(To some, I WAS their teacher.)

The LCSD is denying me employment in

Lee County public AND charter schools.

Why is that? What's their justification?

Five Reasons Why the LCSD

Is Failing Teachers and Students

The REAL Reason Why the LCSD

Put Me on Employment Restriction

The Legal (& Logical) Questions

Lee County Residents Should

Be Asking the LCSD

PDF Printouts & Contact Emails

Five Reasons Why the LCSD is Failing Teachers and Students

The LCSD does not train their new teachers* – they will terminate a new teacher after one mistake simply because the mistake happened during the first-year teacher’s 90-day probationary period. The LCSD seems to value a student (or students) who misbehave in class over an adult professional who made a commitment to the teaching profession. * Violation: Florida Statute 1012.98 (3)(c): School Community Professional Development Act

The LCSD allows their administrators to practice bait-n-switch tactics during the interviewing process – describing & offering one position, then changing the position/job requirements. Then firing the newly hired teacher simply because they can – Is this the at-will employment law or abuse of probationary contract hiring?* * Violation: Florida Statute 1012.335 (1)(c) & (2)(a): Probationary Contracts

The LCSD is willing to deny Lee County students a dedicated & caring math teacher; thus, forcing current teachers to be overworked and overstressed.* The LCSD will "take away" a certified math teacher from a majority of students who want to work and learn (the 95 percent) simply because a few students with behavior issues (the 5 percent) tells the administrator they do not like the teacher. * Possible dereliction of duty by the LCSD - actions/decisions of the district are not in the best interest of their students and teachers.

The LCSD feels charter school students, and students in other districts, are more worthy of a quality math teacher than Lee County public school students. Why is that? I was told to apply to another school district because I will "never be rehired" by the LCSD. Even though the LCSD says that charter schools could hire me if they wanted to... charter schools follow the hiring eligibility of the school district. Therefore, by denying me employment to the district, I am also be denied employment by charter schools - thus, denying Lee County students a math teacher.

The LCSD will take a teacher's money in the form of tuition, books, and subject area exam fees but will not keep that teacher employed – or maybe this is the state of Florida? I live (own a home) – and pay taxes – in Lee County and am in jeopardy of losing my home because I cannot find employment as a teacher in Lee County. Imagine making someone “homeless” because you decided that a dedicated and proven math teacher shouldn’t be in a classroom with public school students. There is no logical or legitimate (legal) reason why the Lee County School District should be denying me employment.

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The "Reason" Why the LCSD Put Me on Employment Restriction

On Thursday, September 26, 2019, I had to resign from my full-time teaching job due to health reasons. Before this day, I was a dedicated math teacher and praised by my administrators for my classroom performance. When I resigned, I indicated to my administrator that I wanted to be added back to the sub/guest teacher list… I still wanted to help the students; I just could not do it full-time. However, the administrator did not inform the district of this request; and as a result, I was terminated from the LCSD. When I contacted the LCSD on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 to inquire about being added back to the sub/guest teacher list, I was told that I would need to reapply to the district – this included being re-fingerprinted and providing references. When I asked why I needed to reapply I was told, “because there was a 24-hour break in employment”. According to the LCSD, when there is more than a 24-hour break in employment, the applicant needs to reapply. I disagreed, and challenged this policy.* * Note: When I contacted the FLDOE, they were not aware of this policy. I was told every district has their own employment policies.

As a consequence of the LCSD’s decision to place me on employment restriction (a no-hire list), I was denied employment as a substitute (guest) teacher for the district for the 2022-23 school year – even during a teacher shortage. On October 28, 2024, I was terminated from my math tutor/teacher job from a local charter school. I was hired by the charter school in August of 2023 as a substitute teacher, then promoted to full-time math tutor a few months later. I was rehired by the charter school for the 2024-25 school year and was in the process of being promoted to full-time math teacher (salaried) when the charter school was informed by the LCSD that I was “not eligible for rehire” by the district. As a result, I was immediately terminated by the charter school. On August 12, 2025, I was informed that I was denied employment as a substitute teacher by Kelly Education (Services) because, I "did not pass district criteria”.

By placing me on a “no-hire” list (aka: employment restriction), the LCSD has denied Lee County students* a dedicated and caring math teacher. I had built strong relationships, and trust, with my students and I was “taken away" from them because a LCSD employee had her feelings hurt when I challenged a district policy. One could argue that this is in violation of my 1st Amendment rights of free speech and the right to peaceful protest. The LCSD failed to put the students’ needs first. The LCSD has also failed to follow Florida statutes regarding employment contracts and professional training. I was never given an opportunity to develop and grow as a teacher. I was hired (and fired) on multiple probationary contracts, which was(is) in violation of F.S. 1012.335. I should have 15 years of teaching experience; but instead, I have zero with the LCSD. I was also terminated during these probationary contracts based on the opinion of administrators without proper training and support, which is in violation of F.S. 1012.98: School Community Professional Development Act. Administrators chose to back a small percentage of students – who were a classroom distraction – while denying the vast majority of students a teacher whose class they enjoyed and were benefiting from. * Charter school students live in Lee County, sometimes go to Lee County public schools, and are the kids of parents that live and work in Lee County.

In response to me challenging the 24-hour break in employment policy, the LCSD placed me on “employment restriction”. This decision was made by the then Director of Human Resources because she didn’t like the “tone” of my emails – I used some all-cap words – and she used the excuse of my work history* as a reason for placing me on this restriction. * Note: My work history included multiple probationary releases that were a result of administrators' decisions/opinions… it was never my decision to leave those jobs. Also, it is important to note that if I had not challenged the 24-hour break in employment policy, and chose to get fingerprinted (again), my "work history" would not have been a problem. I would not have been placed on employment restriction.

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The Legal (& Logical) Questions Residents Should Ask the LCSD

Who has the authority to hire and fire teachers for the Lee County School District – administrators, district personnel, or the school board?

. Since a teacher’s contract is, according to Florida statutes, legally with the district school board, how and why are administrators from a single school (based only on their opinion) allowed to terminate a teacher from the ENTIRE district? Why not move the teacher to a different school? In addition, why are district personnel (Professional Standards & Human Resources) also given this authority? It’s apparent that district personnel have never spent a day in a classroom dealing with students.

Why and how is it that the LCSD hired 300-400 new teachers EVERY year between 2013-2019?

. Did 1,500+ teachers retire during this period? Or did the LCSD abuse and/or misapply probationary contracts? Did the LCSD use probationary contracts (at-will employment?) as an excuse/justification to terminate new teachers? Was this a tactic used by the LCSD as a way to “advertise” new teacher openings in order to increase revenue through tuition, books, and subject area exam fees? How many of these teachers hired between 2010 and 2019 are still employed by the district? How many are still in the teaching profession? How long were they employed by the LCSD? Did they leave on their own, or were they denied employment by the district? Bonus Question: Should public school teachers be considered at-will employees? This seems to be in conflict with Florida Statute 1012.98: School Community Professional Development Act.

If a teacher is deemed “unprofessional” during their probationary period, why hire them back at the district?

. If the Director of Professional Standards does not think a first-year teacher should be in a classroom with high school students, then why would the district hire that teacher back to work with elementary and/or middle school students… multiple times? If the LCSD doesn’t think a teacher is “good enough" to be in a classroom with Lee County public school students, why would it be ok for that teacher to be in a classroom with students at a charter school or at another district?

Does the LCSD – Professional Standards & Human Resources – have the legal right (authority) to put a teacher on a permanent employment restriction simply for disagreeing with a district policy?

. Can the LCSD deny a teacher employment to a public-school classroom - without cause - even when the teacher applies to an outside temp company? Could this be considered retaliation by the LCSD towards the teacher for challenging a district policy? Does the LCSD realize that some charter school students in Lee County can attended both charter schools and Lee County public schools? For example: Charter school for K-8 and LCSD for high school.

During a teacher shortage, why won’t the LCSD hire a dedicated, proven, and certified math teacher? What is their justification?

. Why would the LCSD deny Lee County public school students a caring and dedicated math teacher? What is their reasoning? Could this be considered a dereliction of duty by the district? How is taking away a quality math teacher in the best interest of the students? Parents of Lee County students - public and charter - live, work, and pay taxes in Lee County. The LCSD has a responsibility (duty) to provide a “quality” education not JUST for the students, but also for the parents and taxpayers of Lee County.

Additional Questions for the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) and the State of Florida: 1) Who do public school board members legally answer to? Who oversees that district policy decisions – made by the school district/board – are legally compliant? 2) Can a principal at one school terminate a teacher from the ENTIRE district… only for the district to hire that teacher back the next year at a different school – for the same position – at the request of another principal? 3) How many probationary contracts can the same teacher be hired on by the same district? (* A teacher was hired on five (5) contracts by the Lee County School District – where contracts 3,4,&5 were all probationary contracts. The teacher is currently being denied employment as a teacher in Lee County – both in public & charter schools – by the LCSD based on those “multiple probationary releases”.) 4) What is the penalty for a public school district who abuses probationary contract hiring and violates Florida Statute 1012.335(1)(c)? 5) Is it acceptable for the Director of Professional Standards to make the decision to terminate a first-year teacher simply for making one mistake – without any opportunity to make improvements – simply because the mistake happened during the teacher’s initial 97-day probationary period? 6) Are Florida public school districts required to provide training to their first-year teacher hires? What is the penalty for school districts who violates Florida Statute 1012.98(4)(c) the School Community Professional Learning Act.? 7) Can a public school district deny a temp company from hiring a certified math teacher – who passes their background check – as a substitute teacher because the district does not want that teacher in a classroom with public school students? (*However, the district states that a local charter school “could” hire that teacher.) 8) What is the 24-hour break in employment policy when it comes to district employment? Does this policy make sense when it comes to teacher employment? 9) Should public school teachers be at-will hires? Should there be tenure for teachers?

What EXACTLY is the job, purpose, and responsibilities of the Lee County School Board?

. If the Lee County School Board has relinquished their employment responsibilities - the hiring & firing of teachers - to administrators and district personnel (which may or may not be in violation of Florida statutes)… and they are no longer involved in choosing/hiring a new superintendent, what do they do? How are they “earning” their - taxpayer funded - salaries? Is this “dysfunctional and incompetent” school board the reason why the LCSD has had 5-6 different superintendents since 2010?

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Email Contacts & Printouts

Between October 2019 and September 2025, I had several email exchanges with the LCSD regarding my employment restriction and my charter school employment termination. I also applied to other schools. Below are redacted PDF copies of those emails.