District acknowledges superintendent brought Bible into meeting, referenced scripture

Alachua County’s school district administration for the first time in six months has acknowledged that Superintendent Shane Andrew did bring a Bible into an executive leadership meeting and used biblical references when discussing his employment with the district.

Andrew, who will have his contract up for debate at the Dec. 5 School Board meeting, has previously and emphatically denied the incident ever occurred, despite conflicting accounts from people in the room and records obtained by The Gainesville Sun that state he cited scripture when accusing people of “backstabbing” him.

The district, which first claimed Andrew's notes from the meeting were exempt from public record, is now stating they don't exist based on an attorney's conversation with the superintendent. It's unclear, however, if a proper search for the records has ever been conducted, per the state’s records law. The Gainesville Sun partnered with the Tampa-based law firm Thomas and LoCicero to obtain the documents.

Nevertheless, school district attorney Susan Seigle sent a three-page response to the law firm this week confirming several contested details previously reported by the newspaper.

“Mr. Andrew did have a Maxwell Leadership Bible with him at the Meeting that day, a book that he frequently takes to meetings,” Seigle wrote. “Mr. Andrew is a devout Christian, and the Maxwell Leadership Bible is important to him in difficult times.”

Seigle goes on to say that Andrew referenced Joshua 1:1-9 with employees because it was “fresh in his mind” following the death of a former pastor and that it’s useful when facing adversity. She said Andrew believed the School Board was set to possibly terminate him at a future meeting, though the discussion was simply about his regular annual evaluation.

“Mr. Andrew did comment at the Meeting that he would not be discouraged at whatever decision was made about his employment because he knew the Lord was with him wherever he goes,” the attorney wrote.

The about-face admission comes after nearly six months of denial, including Andrew being asked publicly by School Board Chairwoman Tina Certain during the May 2 meeting if he brought his Bible into the workplace when addressing his cabinet. Although Andrew denied the event happened, he also minced words to say that he never opened and read from the Bible directly, a misinterpretation of The Sun’s reporting.

“I have confirmed with four others at the Meeting that although the Bible was there, Mr. Andrew did not read from the book,” Seigle wrote. “Mr. Andrew is also definite that he never read from the Bible at the Meeting. He is also definite that he has never read from the Bible at any meeting with school personnel during his long tenure in Alachua County.”

On May 25, The Sun originally reported that three district employees told the newspaper that Andrew brought a Bible into a meeting and read scripture that compared himself to Jesus and being backstabbed by those who don’t follow his lead. It was later discovered through a records request that he did have a Bible present and was actually referring to the biblical character Joshua.

He also brought a pre-typed sheet of paper that he sometimes read or reviewed while communicating with staff, according to a document previously obtained by the newspaper from the district. Three others in the room later backed up the claims reported by The Sun, adding that he hadn't brought a Bible to cabinet meetings previously.

As part of The Sun’s quest for information, the district has provided notes from three other employees who were in the room at the time but previously said Andrew's notes were exempt because they hadn't been physically shared, though no such provision exists in state law. Though the school district's letter now argues Andrew's typed notes don't exist, it fails to acknowledge whether he had any notes at all, which would be public record.

“Mr. Andrew is a man of faith, and does not need a typewritten note to remind him of the fundamentals of his faith,” the attorney wrote.

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According to notes previously obtained by The Sun, Andrew told staff that he met with two school leaders earlier where they prayed and talked about the importance of the story of Joshua, as well as the need to recite the verses for several days ahead of his evaluation meeting.

The Bible reference is about how the character was chosen to be a leader following the death of Moses and the importance of being courageous in the face of adversity. The chapter goes on to say that those who spoke out against Joshua were seen as going against God’s will. Those who rebel against Joshua’s commands will be put to death.

During the meeting, according to the notes, he spoke about how people in the room were undermining and backstabbing him, adding that he would call on religious leaders to speak on his behalf and have the upper hand on the School Board if they tried to fire him.

It's unclear if Andrew's sentiments during the cabinet meeting broke any district policy and state laws, though using prayers and religious observances while conducting government business is widely restricted.

“District staff members shall not use prayer, religious readings, or religious symbols as a devotional exercise or in an act of worship or celebration," district policy reads. "The district shall not act as a disseminating agent for any person or outside agency for any religious or anti-religious document, book, or article.”

First Amendment attorney Gary Edinger said Friday he believes Andrew's actions could be a violation, adding that the presence of the Bible could be seen as a way to chastise whistleblowers while conducting official business for a government body.

"He wasn't speaking as a private citizen or speaking in a private setting. It seems pretty clear to me [based on the reporting] that this was not private at all," Edinger said. "I think it was not free speech and it went over to an establishment clause violation. He made much more use of the Bible and used it as a token of authority."

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Refusal of records

Throughout the newspaper’s battle with the district for information about the April 21 cabinet meeting, The Sun paid for and received a chain of emails from School Board assistant Kim Green, who began collecting the notes taken during the meeting.

She said people only needed to provide “shared” notes that were given to other people. Initially, the district only supplied a document from Jennie Wise, ACPS’ chief of teaching and learning. Soon after the newspaper's reporting, she was demoted without notice to become the principal of Howard Bishop Middle School. She ultimately resigned.

The Sun and its team of lawyers believe the way the district collected the records didn’t comply with Florida’s sunshine law. Seigle has since provided two more employee notes since then, though neither were as detailed as Wise’s account of the meeting in question. Despite acknowledging several key accounts from Wise's notes, Siegle argues Andrew doesn't have anything to provide.

“I have personally discussed the matter with Mr. Andrew, and he confirmed that he did not make a typewritten list of notes to read at the Meeting,” Seigle wrote.

It’s not the first time Andrew and his administration have skirted state law over public records.

In response to The Sun's request for Andrew’s text messages earlier this year, the district claimed he had none. When the newspaper clarified that the request also covered his personal device, a district employee wrote in an email that said he refused to search the superintendent’s phone and that the newspaper would need to get a subpoena to obtain the information.

The district has also heavily redacted employee names and city names from texts and documents, including names of school principals, when investigating the leadership of Camp Crystal. When seeking information about Andrew's April meeting, the name of a district employee who attended was also redacted without reason given. The district has argued the names weren’t allowed to be released because it didn’t know if the employees had an unknown tie to law enforcement, even though their names are publicly shared elsewhere and on its website.

In another instance involving a newly created club, Andrew responded to a parent’s concerns beyond the required 10-day period of Florida’s Parents Bill of Rights. The questions revolved around the club's creation and why the students selected appeared to be only all Black males. The separation of students based on gender and race goes against state and federal laws. Though Andrew answered most of the questions, he avoided others, prompting an appeal from the parent.

The School Board opted not to read the parent’s response during a public meeting where the issue was debated but placed the appeal on the meeting agenda, as required by law. The next day, however, the appeal was removed from online.

The district has argued the letter is not considered a public record at this time because there is a pending investigation and complaint against Board chairwoman Diyonne McGraw’s daughter, Brooksie McGraw, who runs the club's meetings.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Disitrict admits Superintendent Shane Andrew had Bible in meeting