Duval County School Board Chairman Responds to Concerns Over Investigation Involving Superintendent – ​​Action News Jax

Willie said the board was informed of the investigation early in the interview process and considered it in the final decision to hire Bernier. According to Willie, Bernier passed on the information.

“We knew what was going on,” Willie said.

Willie also reiterated the board’s confidence in his selection.

“We’ve done our due diligence, we’ve done our research and investigation and we’ve talked to the people there,” Willie said. “And then we’ve also talked to some of the emails that you mention. We’ve talked to a lot of different people about it. And unfortunately, we live in a very interesting time where sometimes things just aren’t what they seem.”

An email was sent to board members on April 29 – weeks before Dr. Christopher Bernier was elected as the next superintendent of DCPS.

It includes an email from an attorney for the Lee County School Board attempting to answer questions about Dr. Bernier’s sudden resignation from Lee Schools.

It states, in part: “I understand that you have questions about Dr. Bernier’s departure from the district. Unfortunately, due to an ongoing investigation, I am unable to provide you with any specific information.”

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Former Atlantic Beach Mayor Ellen Glasser raised concerns about the district’s selection process at Tuesday’s school board meeting, and after learning about the email today, she told Action News Jax’s Annette Gutierrez by phone that it raised more red flags.

“If the school board actually knew about this before they voted for him, I hope they took it very seriously because the allegations are very serious,” Glasser said. “We should not make the mistake of hiring a school board member who has this kind of history.”

Yesterday, we told you about a post on Facebook that appeared to show an anonymous email and is now part of a complaint sent to Lee County School Board members and the district’s Chief Operations Officer, Larry Stephens.

It states that Dr. Bernier ran a campaign “denigrating work ethic and character” … and … “he wished he could get rid of them, but because he is black, he did not want to be called a racist.”

The complaint against Dr. Bernier was filed on April 4. He applied to DCPS on April 6. Then, on April 8, he suddenly resigned from his job as superintendent of Lee County Schools. Eleven days later, Duval School board members received an email about an ongoing investigation. Despite this, Dr. Bernier was chosen as the next superintendent of Duval School.

Willie says that after their research, he is confident that they made the right decision.

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“I mean, based on the information we have, we’re going to be fine,” Willie said. “And if it turns out differently, we’ll have to come together as a whole board. And we’re prepared to do that if that’s the case.”

Yesterday, a DCPS representative sent a statement to Action News Jax on behalf of Dr. Bernier, saying in part: “In Lee County, we have improved student achievement and I left on good terms. I look forward to similar success…”

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