Photo: Kaila Jones School Board Vice Chairman Tiffany Justice wants to put in jail a longtime school employee who posted social-media comments that were sometimes-critical, occasionally disparaging and often implied she was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Superintendent Mark Rendell.
Really.
In fact, Justice filed a complaint with the Sheriff’s Office and told deputies she had suffered the “substantial emotional distress” required by Florida law to support a cyber-stalking charge – even though none of the social-media posts were in any way threatening.
Many of them weren’t even mean.
Yet, according to a Sheriff’s Office report made public Monday afternoon, Justice told Det. Aaron Scranton that the social-media posts “caused her anxiety and embarrassment, as well as the inability to sleep well at night.”
Justice goes on to say in the report that the posts have “affected her marriage,” upset her children and impacted her ability to “effectively perform the functions of her job as an elected school board official.”
And she wants Vicki Sidles, who works in the School District’s purchasing department, prosecuted and punished for her posts, particularly on Twitter.
Cyber-stalking, if that’s what the State Attorney’s office thinks this is, is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of a year in jail, up to a year’s probation and up to a $1,000 fine.
It doesn’t matter that Sidles, posting under the Twitter handle “BigBear89,” didn’t know she was doing anything illegal, or that most of her tweets were either benign or targeted someone else.
It doesn’t matter that Sidles didn’t tag Justice or Rendell in her tweets – she said both were “blocked,” so they needed to actively seek them out – or that she was merely sharing information about schools-related matters and expressing her opinions in a popular online forum created for such discourse.
It doesn’t matter that Sidles had only 50 Twitter followers, not 50,000.
Yes, some of Sidles’ tweets connecting Justice and Rendell were based on rumor and undermined her legitimate commentary on other school-related matters. She would’ve been better-served by focusing on their performance as district leaders.
But should these tweets – the ones included in the Sheriff’s Office report, anyway – have produced such a devastating effect on Justice’s life?
She is, after all, an elected official. Fair or not, personal attacks come with the job.
So do occasional cheap shots, especially in today’s toxic political climate. You’ve got to be tough enough to shrug them off.
Snowflakes need not apply.
So the real question is: Did Sidles commit a crime?
The Sheriff’s Office wisely opted to not make that call, forwarding Detective Scranton’s report – and the determination of criminality – to State Attorney Bruce Colton and his staff.
Sidles is nervous, even scared.
Last week, her boss sent her home from work. She said he offered no reason, telling her only that she was being placed on “administrative leave with pay” until further notice.
Who made the decision to suspend her from her job? We don’t know, but we certainly can take a guess.
Obviously, the suspension is tied to Sidles’ tweets, and she’s worried she will be fired.
Her concern is well-founded: Fear of retaliation is the reason she posted under a pseudonym and didn’t identify herself as a school district employee.
Far too many teachers and other schools employees have complained, mostly in private, about a culture of intimidation and bullying by the district office and administrators since Rendell’s arrival nearly four years ago.
“All you have to do is look at the exit interviews to see there’s a problem,” School Board Chairman Laura Zorc said.
“Employees feel they have no voice, and they’re afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation. Eventually, their frustration builds up until they can’t take it anymore, and they resign.
“It’s really become an issue the last couple of years,” she added. “We, as a board, tell them they can come to us and talk to us about problems in the district. But they don’t.”
That’s not likely to change now.
Justice just turned up the heat on the school district’s climate of intimidation, bullying and retaliation. Getting fired is one thing. Getting arrested is something else.
Both could happen to Sidles, but neither should.
After an investigation that began in January – when Justice first contacted Sheriff’s Maj. Eric Flowers – and concluded last week, Scranton handed the State Attorney’s Office a weak case with little evidence of any real harm having been done.
The most offensive of Sidles’ tweets refers to Rendell having too much power and Justice under his desk.
Other tweets mention:
nJustice as Rendell’s “girlfriend” and Rendell as Justice’s “special man.”
nRendell’s “unprofessional relationship” with Justice, stating, “That’s been going on for a long time.”
nA clause that allows for Rendell’s termination for “moral turpitude” for his relationship with Justice.
nJustice and Rendell “trying too hard to cover their tracks.”
There are also several tweets in which Sidles merely infers there’s any type of inappropriate relationship between Rendell and Justice, or simply critiques Justice.
“What’s with the faces from (Justice) during the board meeting last night,” Sidles tweeted. “If she knew how unprofessional she looks, would she still act like this? Probably. (Rendell) is on the chopping block. …”
She also tweeted about Justice at a school board meeting: “Someone PLEASE just shut her up! Not sure how much longer I can take this idiot! Reminds me of Charlie Brown’s teacher.”
For those tweets – along with comments Sidles and others posted anonymously on the fire-Rendell, online petition she launched in response to Justice’s failed effort to rally support for the embattled superintendent – the Sheriff’s Office teamed with prosecutors to solve the county’s crime of the century.
Multiple interviews were conducted. Screen shots were reviewed and recorded.
A subpoena was obtained to force Twitter to reveal Sidles’ identity, and a court order was granted to prevent Twitter from alerting her to the investigation.
Then a search of driver’s license and vehicle registration databases was undertaken.
Finally, a supplemental report was filed by Flowers, detailing his initial contact with Justice, consultation with Assistant State Attorney Ryan Butler, interactions with crime analysts and his decision to put sheriff’s detectives on the case.
All of this – all of the man hours invested – for a misdemeanor case that, given the intent of the law and the facts presented, should never see the inside of a courtroom?
Think about it: Would a reasonable person be so emotionally traumatized by these social-media posts?
Again, no threats were made.
For the record: Justice did not answer her school district-issued cell phone Monday night, and her voice mailbox was full.
Justice also did not respond to a text message asking if she would like to comment on her complaint.
Sidles, meanwhile, appeared to be an emotional wreck, saying she has been unable to sleep or eat because she’s worried about losing her job and the possibility she’ll be arrested.
“I’ve been extremely distraught, suicidal and crying uncontrollably,” she said. “I have epilepsy, and I’ve been experiencing seizures due to stress because they’re targeting me.
“They’ll find a way to fire me.”
Actually, it’s difficult to imagine Sidles losing her job, even if Rendell recommends her termination – because the move must be approved by a majority of the school board, and Justice almost certainly would be forced to recuse herself from the vote.
Besides, a lesser punishment would be far more fitting, if she’s willing to accept one.
Fact is, our troubled school district doesn’t need another prolonged and costly controversy, such as the one Rendell created a few years back when he foolishly and unsuccessfully tried to fire Sebastian River High teacher Joe Nathaniel, who physically subdued an out-of-control thug in the classroom.
You might remember that the Sheriff’s Office also investigated that incident before Nathaniel took his case to court and became a hero to many school district employees.
Unless Justice prevails, Sidles could be headed for a similar fate.
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