Shannon Rodriguez, a Hernando County School Board member, has displayed toxic, inappropriate, and unprofessional behavior for an elected official. Her behavior at school board meetings continues to contribute to a maladaptive community environment regarding education, along with persecutory behavior from the community towards educational professionals. This persecutory behavior, in the end, is resulting in teachers leaving the field and students without certified teachers for core classes. Shannon Rodriguez has displayed time and time again that, as a school board member, she does NOT support those who work in schools and has shown her disconnect with the reality of the public education system. She has called staff members lazy, claimed we are exposing children to pornography, and aligned herself with those who state that educators are indoctrinating and grooming children. Most recently, at the Hernando County School Board meeting on May 5th, 2023, she inappropriately berated a public school teacher for showing a movie that featured, for a mere 2 minutes, a gay couple. The teacher was pulled aside by administration and explained where she went wrong and how to avoid this mistake in the future, as she is a first year teacher. However, this did not stop Mrs. Shannon Rodriguez from publicly berating this teacher for a full 3 minutes during closing comments. Mrs. Rodriguez has also, time and time again, publicly and unprofessionally scolded the superintendent, Mr. John Stratton, during school board meetings, along with displaying worrisome levels of paranoia. One of many examples includes her remarks at the Hernando County School Board meeting on March 28th. At this time, she stated that her fellow school board members were engaging in backdoor behavior. This disconnected, unhinged behavior is resulting in professional, certified educators refusing to be connected to this board and thus leaving the field of education. Additionally, she has claimed that superintendent John Stratton feigned ignorance when he stated he had no knowledge of certain events or topics of conversation. Her actions are not indicative of an individual who is trying to help support and improve learning in our school system. Students are openly frustrated with this and vehemently feel that this does not truly support their education.

Within months of her election to the board, her divisiveness toward other board members, inappropriate conduct toward district staff and teachers, and inability to regard teachers with respect for their education, experience, and humanity have already caused negativity toward our teachers from community members, which in turn causes undue stress, increases burnout, and creates dissatisfaction and discomfort on the part of our teachers. In turn, they complete their required tasks in a minimal fashion or leave the classroom, leaving our students unsupported by qualified educators. Teacher retention is at an all-time low in Hernando County, with over 80% of HCSD teachers leaving within the first 3 years of their employment. There are currently over 100 instructional openings for the HCSD, with only more teachers leaving and positions opening at the end of the 2022–2023 school year. Again, leaving students without qualified teachers in the classroom. Why now? We can’t wait four more years when this has happened in just over the last 4 months.

With the school year coming to an end, time is of the essence. This petition urges Mrs. Rodriguez to listen to the community, step down from her position as a school board member, and serve her community and the school system in a different capacity, as this is not a good fit. If Mrs. Rodriguez decides against the aforementioned action, this petition urges Ron DeSantis, Governor of the State of Florida, to remove Shannon Rodriguez from her position immediately while there are still teachers left in Hernando County.