JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Jacksonville charter school principal has hired an attorney to challenge her termination, saying it was based on a “false and defamatory” evaluation.
In an email Friday to the Cornerstone Classical Academy board, Dr. Melanie Williams said neither she nor her lawyer have been able to get answers from the school to back up criticisms listed in an evaluation that preceded her firing because, as she put it, they’re not true.
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Williams said she sent an email to the board March 15, raising questions about her termination, but did not get a response. She said her attorney followed up March 19 and March 23 seeking records related to her termination, but she said those emails also went unanswered.
“Obviously, my lawyer’s public records request was ignored for the same reason the Board ignored my March 15 email,” Williams wrote. “The Board cannot furnish documents which substantiate the false and defamatory statements in my evaluation.”
We reached out to the school for a response to Williams’ email and are awaiting a response. The school previously declined to comment on her firing, saying it was a “personnel issue.”
As News4Jax previously reported, Williams was suspended March 5 and the board finalized her termination March 9. A copy of her mid-year evaluation shows she got mixed reviews. Despite scoring better than 8 out of 10 in half of the categories, the rest of her scores hovered around 5 out of 10.
Williams on Friday zeroed in on a criticism about CCA’s relationship with Duval County Public Schools. Specifically, she referred to a line in her evaluation suggesting her actions “would have resulted in a revoked charter” if not for the board’s intervention.
“The evaluation states that ‘DCPS reported a very poor image of principal and CCA,’” Williams wrote Friday. “The Board could not provide any details or documents to support this statement because it is false and defamatory.”
Williams’ latest email appears to have come in response to a message from David Wood, the board secretary for CCA, who sent an email Friday morning reminding her that it was her final day to consider and sign a separation agreement with the school.
“I am hopeful I can reach an agreement with the CCA Board. The most important issue for me in reaching an agreement is the truth. The false and defamatory evaluation should be revoked and replaced with a statement which accurately reflects upon my performance as principal of CCA,” Williams wrote. “ ... Please let me know if the CCA Board is interested in a resolution which is based on the truth.”