A transgender teacher employed at a middle school in Florida was allowed to stay on campus for a number of weeks despite allegedly making disturbing comments about shooting students and “having bad thoughts,” according to a Sunday report.
The Florida Department of Education issued a statement on Friday regarding the situation at Fox Chapel Middle School in Hernando County, stating that the teacher in question, Ashlee Renczkowski, has been removed from the school in response to concerns about student safety, The Epoch Times reported.
The Department acknowledged that Ashlee Renczkowski’s removal from the school was prompted by the state officials’ concerns, which were brought to the attention of Hernando County School District Superintendent John Stratton on Wednesday evening.
“Moms for Liberty,” a parental rights group, reportedly obtained an incident report which stated that on March 24, Assistant Principal Kerry Thornton and Guidance Counselor Kimberly Walby at Fox Chapel Middle School notified a school resource officer, who was temporarily assigned to the school, that Ashlee Renczkowski had made “concerning statements about self-harm” and potentially shooting students.
Please see the Florida Department of Education’s statement below on a school safety situation in Hernando County. pic.twitter.com/gBwNpcf4H6
— Florida Department of Education (@EducationFL) April 14, 2023
“Thornton was alerted to the situation after visiting Renczkowski’s classroom and asking the teacher how the day was going, according to the report,” The Epoch Times noted.
“Not good, I’m having bad thoughts,” Renczkowski responded, the report said.
The report also said the teacher is a biological male and is “currently in the transformation stage of becoming a woman.”
Following her conversation with Renczkowski, Thornton contacted Walby to inform her that the teacher was on her way to the guidance counselor’s office to talk. During this conversation, Renczkowski allegedly revealed that she was experiencing suicidal ideation and had expressed a desire “to shoot some students due to them not performing to their ability.” She also disclosed that she owned three firearms, which law enforcement officials have since confiscated from her residence.
Following the concerning remarks, the teacher reportedly clarified that he “would never harm a student” and had no intention of inflicting self-harm, as per the incident report.
In a public statement issued on Thursday, Stratton confirmed as well that Renczkowski has since been removed from “all student contact” and added that the teacher is cooperating fully with an investigation.
“In light of this additional information, the school district will continue to investigate the incident and require further involvement by mental health experts,” the statement reads. “As part of our investigation, we will take a hard look at all the actions that were taken on that day, and in the days following the incident, and determine if any steps were missed.”
“The school district has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and resources toward implementing outstanding school safety protocols,” it added. “As part of our safety practice, conclusions drawn from this incident may lead to consideration of additional safeguards.”
Several parents responded to the report.
“Anybody that makes a comment like that should not be working in a school,” Mike Martini, a parent of a Fox Chapel student, told FOX13. “If a student made that comment there would be charges pressed. The child would be expelled.”
Aramis Rosario, a parent of another student attending the school, told the outlet: “I was told that the teacher had stated they were going to shoot the kids and they were going to then kill themselves. My heart dropped the moment that I heard that it was confirmed that there [were] actual weapons inside of the household.”
