Chiles high school principal retaliates after being suspended for 2 weeks

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A battle is brewing within the Leon County School District over allegations that Lawton Chiles High School principal Joe Burgess has embezzled funds intended to help Advanced Placement students.

Now Burgess is taking his own action against the district.

All of this was brought to light with a small item on the Leon County School Board’s agenda on Tuesday night.

Burgess has been reprimanded with a two-week suspension without pay, but wants a chance to prove his innocence.

The LCS board of directors voted to send the matter to a state-level ombudsperson, and the district then released the findings of a third-party investigation into Burgess’ handling of AP funds.

Law firm alleges it charges low-paid employees with additional duties and falsified payroll records. However, the investigation also found that there was not enough evidence to conclude that Burgess had broken a law and that district guidelines on the matter could at times be unclear.

LCS Superintendent Rocky Hannah recommended a two-week unpaid suspension and Burgess attempted to appeal. It was then that it was decided to send her to the Florida Administrative Hearings Division.

Legal representation for the longtime principal said Burgess is denied the right to clear his name, and said in a statement, in part:

He was shocked recently to learn that he was under investigation for allegedly embezzling funds from Advanced Placement (AP), but was confident the investigation was closed when evidence was provided that the payments were correct. As such, he felt personally targeted when the investigation turned to a brand new allegation of wrongdoing once the initial allegation was refuted.

The district denies that there was more than one investigation. The investigation mentions several other staff members whose names are redacted from documents.

WCTV was informed by a member of staff that there were around 20 people who spoke with investigators in Chiles. Some of them received letters from Superintendent Hannah on Wednesday saying they had been cleared.

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