Hernando school board meets privately in lawsuit over 2023 teacher incident

The Hernando County School Board met behind closed doors April 21 to discuss a lawsuit that could still carry financial exposure for district taxpayers, nearly three years after the Fox Chapel Middle School incident that drew widespread attention.

The private attorney-client session, listed in a special meeting notice as a one-hour discussion, centered on Kerry Thornton v. School Board of Hernando County, Florida, Case No. 2024-CA-1054. Florida’s Sunshine Law allows school boards to meet privately with their attorneys for pending litigation strategy only under narrow conditions, and the session must begin in an open meeting with the board announcing the gathering, its expected length, and who is attending.

Thornton, a former assistant principal at Fox Chapel Middle School, filed the lawsuit in October 2024 after being fired that year following more than 25 years with the district. Her suit argues that the district made her the scapegoat for decisions tied to a March 24, 2023 episode involving a transgender teacher who had reportedly made concerning statements and expressed suicidal thoughts. Thornton says she and guidance counselor Kimberly Walby reported the teacher’s comments to a school resource officer, then later faced retaliation when they raised concerns about how the district handled the matter.

The teacher was later identified in reporting as Ashlee Renczkowski. According to that reporting, the teacher was removed from the classroom on April 13, 2023, after public pressure and continued investigation. Thornton contends the district blamed her for allowing the teacher to return to the classroom and then created a hostile work environment after she complained. The suit seeks an undisclosed amount of damages.

The case has remained active long after the original incident, underscoring how a school-level personnel dispute can turn into a broader test of district decision-making, employee protections and public trust. That tension was visible in April 2023, when Superintendent John Stratton issued a statement about the March 24 incident and parents criticized the district at the April 11 school board meeting over how it handled the situation. Some parents later pulled children from Fox Chapel Middle School, adding to the pressure on district leaders.

For Hernando County, the lawsuit is more than a private employment fight. It keeps alive questions about what administrators knew, how quickly they acted, and whether the public explanation matched the internal record. With the board now discussing the matter in private, the district’s response remains largely shielded even as the legal risks continue to build.