ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Trout Creek Academy principal at the center of a yearbook controversy that gained national attention is getting more time to fight for her job after a St. Johns County School Board meeting Tuesday morning.
Katie O’Connell, her attorney, and several supporters asked the board to delay any action related to her employment. The board ultimately removed the item from its agenda.
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Just weeks after a yearbook controversy thrust Trout Creek Academy Principal Katie O’Connell into the national spotlight, she addressed the school board.
The controversy began after the rap lyric “Everybody hatin’, we just call them fans though” appeared with O’Connell’s name in the Trout Creek Academy yearbook.
Critics objected to the quote from a Fetty Wap song, and the story quickly gained national attention, eventually drawing support from the rapper himself, who sent O’Connell flowers.
O’Connell said the situation has damaged her career.
“I stand here before the board in utter disappointment and devastation,” O’Connell told the board. “Here I am, a 26-year dedicated, defamed, destroyed educator, over a quote I didn’t even proof or approve.”
O’Connell, along with supporters, is calling for the district to pause any action and allow her to receive a formal hearing.
At this time, the district declines to comment.
O’Connell’s attorney, Jack Webb, told News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson that the decision to place her on leave, along with a recommendation that her contract not be renewed, without her administrative hearing, is not legal under Florida law.
“We’re not here to litigate, we’re not here to be adversarial, that’s not the point. We just want her to get her due process rights,” Webb said.
Webb also referenced a past incident involving another principal, saying a similar yearbook issue was corrected without disciplinary action.
Andrew Rowe, a parent in the district, said the situation is being handled too aggressively.
“It’s a small oversight, and I don’t know, it’s just not a big deal. For someone to have a career that long, unless she is doing a bad job, there is no indication from what I am aware of,” Rowe said.
Rowe said he believes there should be a better process, especially amid concerns about teacher shortages.
“I don’t really see the big deal,” Rowe said. “If it’s somebody dedicated to doing a good job, we should try to keep them. We are losing a lot of good educators to private schools or going out of the county.”
The district has not said when the matter may return to the board for consideration.