JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Duval County educator who reported a fellow teacher’s misconduct claims the school board later retaliated against her by charging her thousands of dollars more than others for the related public records.
Plaintiff Rebecca Holbrook Loar filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division.
In her 15-page complaint, Loar alleges the Duval County School Board, or DCPS, retaliated against her – a private citizen at the time – for reporting the misconduct, speaking publicly about the district’s failure to act, and petitioning for public records documenting the district’s failures.
“The Defendant intentionally treated Plaintiff differently from similarly situated news-media and other requesters who sought Clayton's personnel, investigative, or disciplinary records during the same period and received them promptly and at little or no charge,” the filing states.
Loar is a former vocal-music teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a public school operated by DCPS. She worked for the district from August 2007 until June 2012.
Loar’s lawsuit notes that she was not employed by DCPS when she engaged in the protected activity or when the retaliation occurred.
In 2011, while still employed, Loar claims she was called to the principal’s office and met with a DCPS ethics investigator concerning her work environment.
She allegedly was asked to submit a written statement about fellow teacher Jeffrey Clayton to the principal, Jackie Cornelius, who would forward it to the investigator.
Loar claims she submitted the statement, which documented inappropriate behavior by Clayton toward female students as well as conduct by administrators.
The lawsuit alleges that the only copy, which Loar entrusted to Cornelius, went missing, and she was later required to recreate it.
“No corrective action was taken, and Clayton remained in the classroom for more than a decade,” the suit states.
Meanwhile, Loar’s employment with DCPS ended in June 2012.
Though her employment with the district ended, Loar, as a private citizen, continued to report Clayton’s “inappropriate” behavior and the district’s failures to act.
In January 2013, she alleges she took part in a “lengthy” interview with DCPS’s ethics office about her report. Nothing was done, she claims.
Then, in June 2020 – again, as a private citizen employed by a university in another state – she emailed the district’s superintendent about Clayton. She was told it was forwarded to the “appropriate district office for review and possible additional investigation.”
At least six high-level district officials received her 2020 report within days, she claims.
“The Defendant nonetheless took no adequate corrective action, and Clayton remained in the classroom,” her lawsuit states, adding that she filed an additional report in 2022.
On March 22, 2023, Clayton was arrested for lewd and lascivious conduct involving a current student, according to her lawsuit.
Loar spoke publicly to the news media the day after, criticizing the district’s handling of reports about Clayton’s misconduct.
In the days following his arrest, Loar claims she submitted a public records request, seeking district records concerning Clayton and her own prior reports of him. Again, she submitted the request as a private citizen.
In April 2023, DCPS demanded more than $5,000 as a condition of producing further records. It also warned that the request would be closed if the charge went unpaid, she alleges.
Loar, who could not afford the charge, narrowed her records request. Soon after, the district reduced its cost estimate to $31.78.
“On information and belief, during the same period, members of the news media and other requesters sought Clayton personnel, disciplinary, and investigative records from the same custodian, involving the same educator and the same public controversy, and received responsive records promptly and at little or no charge,” her lawsuit states.
Loar also alleges that while her records request was pending, a DCPS’ Office of Professional Standards supervisor deleted nearly 300 files – including public records requests and multiple documents concerning Clayton.
Loar seeks a declaration that the district’s conduct violated her constitutional rights, an order enjoining DCPS from retaliating against her or treating her public records requests differently, nominal and compensatory damages and attorney fees.
Moser Law PLLC in St. Augustine, Florida, is representing Loar in the case.
