This spring, an independent review of allegations of teacher misconduct at Sarasota County's Riverview High School was leaked to a website and shared on social media, in what one school board member described as a violation of state law that must be investigated.
The report, by consultancy firm Hultman and Joshi, examined a multitude of years-old accusations dealing with cheating, sexual harassment and profiting off school resources, some dating to 2019-20.
Those details were supposed to be shared only with school board members until the review was complete and the district wrapped up its inquiry, according to state law.
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“Any material relating to the investigation of a complaint against an employee are confidential and exempt from disclosure under §119.07(1) until the preliminary investigation concludes or ceases to be active,” the school district said in response to a Freedom of Information Act request for the documentation by WUSF this summer.
However, the full report was already posted online June 4, in a Facebook group called Francesco Abruzzino-The Scoop Group.
Abruzzino posted the report, “which someone posted a note about in my group,” along with an AI summary.
“The underline and notes are from anonymous,” it added, referring to red underlines and stars that appear throughout the document, along with a handwritten section that read: “Art Hardy denied this conversation,” referring to a former school board attorney.
School board member Tom Edwards said it’s possible another school board member leaked the details while the investigation is active. He went public with what he described as a “serious matter” at a board meeting on Thursday.
Florida law "provides penalties for willful and knowing violations of public records laws,” Edwards said. “Because the investigation was active at the time of the disclosure and remains active to this day, this matter must be reviewed independently and appropriately.”
To his knowledge, there were fewer than 10 hard copies of that report, and five were provided to board members, who were not allowed to share them with anyone, Edwards said. There were no digital copies, he added.
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“We as school board members can know about it, but we just can't share it with the public. We can't even share it with our spouses,” he said in an interview with WUSF.
Edwards would not speculate on who might have leaked the report. But he said in his six years on the school board, he’s learned that these investigations can be “weaponized,” and many teachers fear retaliation for speaking up.
“While those people are under investigation, the court of public opinion is making decisions about the investigation, which is not fair to them. They had not been either found negligent accountable to their particular charge or cleared. So, everyone knew that they were under investigation, and that's not fair,” Edwards said.
WUSF reached out to school board members Bridget Ziegler, Karen Rose, Robyn Marinelli and Liz Barker for comment. Only Marinelli responded by deadline, saying “I have no idea,” and “that is the first I heard about any leaks.”
Marinelli also commented on a video posted online of the board meeting in which she appears to glance toward Rose and Ziegler as Edwards is making his statement. She said she was not looking at them but rather at the school board attorney.
The nonprofit investigative newsroom, Suncoast Searchlight, reported in June on the third-party review by Hultman and Joshi.
The outlet obtained a copy of the Riverview High report, which it said “alleged both school and district leaders mishandled complaints of teacher misconduct at the school.”
After the report’s release, Riverview High announced principal Erin Haughey would trade positions with Director of Secondary Curriculum Michelle Anderson, though it’s unclear if those actions were related to the probe.
Haughey “wasn't even a part of the complaint. But she was ridiculed because her name was mentioned and she was the principal of that school,” said Edwards.
Edwards said he planned to approach the Sarasota Police Department on Friday to ask for an investigation, not the sheriff or school district police.
That’s because Sarasota Sheriff Kurt Hoffman endorsed Republican candidate Teresa DeWitt in the recent school board election. DeWitt has been active with the right-wing group Moms for Liberty and came in third in the August contest for Ziegler’s seat, which is headed to a runoff in November between Heidi Brandt and Jimmy Glover.
The other two seats up for election were won by Megan Tennimon, who has no party affiliation, and Beth Mayberry, a Democrat, flipping control of the five-member board to moderates for the first time since 2022.
“I'm not sure that the sheriff can remain unbiased here. And I'm not comfortable taking it to the state because Karen Rose and Bridget Ziegler have connections right into the governor's office,” said Edwards. “So, I really am looking for the safest, most independent investigative team.”
Reached for comment on Friday, a Sarasota police spokeswoman said she had not yet heard about the issue but that it could be up to the school board police or sheriff to investigate.
