Documents show fractured relationship between fired Alachua County superintendent, school board

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Performance reviews from school board members submitted last month show there was ongoing tension between former Alachua County schools superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon and board members — and that tension may have played a part in her dismissal.

Simon was fired by a divided school board Tuesday night, 3-2, bringing to an end to her controversial 15-month run as superintendent.

Board member Mildred Russell wrote in her review: “We need to resolve the tension between Board members.”

Board member Dr. Leanetta McNealy, who voted to keep Simon, acknowledged the board’s ongoing issues.

“We are dysfunctional and I am a part of that dysfunction. I cause dysfunction and all of my other colleagues cause dysfunction,” McNealy said Tuesday night.

Russell specifically mentioned board member Dr. Gunnar Paulson and his troubled relationship with Simon in her review.

“I think for the most part [the working relationship between the school board and the superintendent] is good, with the exception of Dr. Paulson. That needs to be resolved for the good of all. I do not know what positive steps the Superintendent has taken to improve that relationship. We cannot be as effective as we need to be when there is tension. The Superintendent desires to bring someone in to work with us on team work and working together effectively. Maybe that would resolve the situation with Dr. Paulson,” Russell wrote.

Dr. Paulson, was particularly critical of Simon in his performance review, saying she lacked qualifications and giving her the lowest possible grade of “unsatisfactory.”

He referenced his review before voting to terminate Simon’s contract which wasn’t set to expire until June 2023.

“Go look at my evaluation it’s pretty complete and make your own decision,” Paulson said Tuesday night.

Paulson said he “strongly supported” the board and Dr. Simon’s decision to push for masks in schools despite a statewide ban on mandates, but added, “Dr. Simon’s highly critical language with the Department of Education staff further alienated our district’s interactions with the Department of Education.”

READ: Performance review from board member Tina Certain | Review from board member Robert Hyatt | Review from board member Leanetta McNealy

Simon squared off against the Department of Education over the banning of mask mandates and the Tampa Bay Times called her the “face of the mask battle in Florida.”

Paulson also criticized other decisions by Simon — including her non-renewal of nine administrators and “absence of purposeful, positive relationship building” — and was one of three board members who voted to fire Simon.

Board members McNealy and Tina Certain voted against firing her.

Russell, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis at the height of the mask battle, also voted to fire Russell after giving her a “developing” evaluation on her review. Simon said she believes Russell was brought in to dismiss her as payback for her stance on masks.

“I think I knew the minute DeSantis put Mildred in her position, way back in August, that that was her intent,” Simon told News4JAX. “We had had a fairly good working relationship, so I was definitely disappointed that she was willing to just kind of go out and do what we know she was placed there to do.”

A spokesperson for DeSantis denied the accusation.

“The governor exercised his constitutional authority to fill a vacancy on the Alachua School Board in his appointment of Mildred Russell last year,” Christina Pushaw wrote in a statement to News4JAX.

Simon acknowledged to News4JAX there was a fractured relationship between her and Paulson and said she believes she got caught up in the overall dysfunction of the board.

“Honestly, I believe that there is a disagreement between board members. That comes from even me being appointed into the position that you know, this is partly, obviously about me, but I think there’s another part of essentially settling scores between board members who felt that they weren’t happy with how my position was put in place,” Simon said.

Board chair Robert Hyatt, who voted to fire Simon, gave her a “needs improvement” evaluation and gave her low marks in areas such as building community support for district priorities and understanding the functions and operations of the district.

“Dr. Simon was hired as an Interim and the [sic] installed as Superintendent with a modicum of community input,” Hyatt wrote in his review. “She was provided the highest salary in District history as well as a long contract. The 3-2 vote represented a divided Board which was not a promising start. The Board was effective in its response to COVID be we have fallen short in many other areas.”

News4JAX has tried to contact board members multiple times over the last two days to learn more about their decision to fire Simon but has not heard back.


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Digital reporter who has lived in Jacksonville for more than 25 years and focuses on important local issues like education and the environment.