After almost an entire year, Duval County will finally learn who the next leader will be as public school superintendent.
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Whoever the school board chooses won’t start until July 1, but Thursday will still feel like the culmination of a very long process.
We’ve told you every step. The last 2 candidates are Dr. Daniel Smith and Dr. Christopher Bernier.
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Action News Jax found a lawsuit linking Bernier’s former school district to a series of racist text messages.
This lawsuit was filed after Bernier abruptly resigned from his last position in Lee County, Florida. His contract was to run through November, but after mutual agreement he left on April 8, the same day the lawsuit was filed naming him and his former school board as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that the Lee County School District failed to protect a student from racial discrimination while Bernier was still superintendent. It says a Lee County assistant baseball coach sent a racist text message in a group chat in February 2023.
The coach was fired; However, the lawsuit claims that administrators “have not taken direct action to address this issue.” Instead, they “insisted that related behaviors were unrelated.”
Read: ‘Several warning signs:’ Questions have been raised about the departure of the superintendent who will now move to the top job at DCPS
The family that filed the lawsuit said the school district “failed to protect the actual victims of discrimination.” The student’s parents said this in turn led to a racial divide between white and black players on the team.
Bernier alluded to the incident when he was asked during one of the interviews with the Duval County School Board about the most difficult thing he faced as superintendent.
“One of the most complicated issues I’ve had to deal with is potentially going to be an ESPN story,” he said. “It was a very difficult decision, and some of the consequences are still visible today. It is an ongoing investigation.”
Read: Duval School Board narrows the field to two finalists in the search for the next superintendent
Action News Jax contacted both school districts about the pending lawsuit. You can reach their answers HERE.
Action News Jax also told you when concerns were raised about other candidate Daniel Smith’s connection to a sexual abuse scandal in a Virginia school district. There were allegations that district leaders tried to cover this up. Smith began his role after the scandal and was not named in the grand jury report.
The DCPS school board will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday and is expected to approve the superintendent’s employment contract in the first week of June. The next chief inspector will start work on July 1.
Read: Duval Superintendent finalist candidate has no ties to Loudoun County school scandal
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