Culture War wages within Hernando County School District
May 9, 2023 School Board Meeting
In a somewhat unexpected appearance, the Board also heard from Fox Chapel Middle School teacher Fawn Renczkowski. Renczkowski is the wife of transgender teacher Ashlee Belle Renczkowski, who has been the center of the Fox Chapel incident. Renczkowski also serves as the Middle School Director on the executive leadership Board of the Hernando County teacher’s union. Renczkowski said she came to “speak the truth because
so few have decided the truth is worth listening to.” She went on to say that the “far-right extremists and hate groups would prefer fake news and misinformation, halftruths,
and whole lies, hyperbole in anything that promotes us being pawns in their political game.” Quoting John 8:32, in which Jesus said, “The truth will set you free,” Renczkowski said, “Here I am, doing the Lord’s work.” She went on to say:
“The truth is that many people don’t care what happened at Fox Chapel. They don’t care what she (the teacher) did or didn’t say. They only care about pushing a false narrative to further their cause. Many teachers are removed from the classroom, but none make local or national headlines, so why did she?
Because she’s different and doesn’t conform to the status quo. It’s clear in every headline why she was targeted. She found happiness in herself, and she lives her truth, and hate groups can not stand it.
They’d rather she be dead than exist in front of students, and that’s what their goal for the last year has been. To bully her and push her to a breaking point. The truth is we’ve been under attack for the last year by a local hate group that targeted her for being different.
Neither of us fits their idea of this emotionless robot of a teacher who doesn’t make connections with their students but only teaches content. So we’re a threat to them, not because of what we’ve done or said, but who we are.
The truth is we’ve been harassed online and in person, bullied, and threatened because of a false claim, because of a lie. The truth is we asked for help from some of the School Board members who are praised and put on a pedestal by these hate groups, and they ignored our pleas. They claim not to support bullying but have promoted our mistreatment, even contributing to it.
The truth is so many we have faithfully served for over a decade betrayed us and turned their backs on us because it was easier to believe the lies than using reading comprehension skills and draw conclusions on their own. They let these hateful people write the narrative and attempt to destroy lives because it was easier to play victim than to look at reality.
The truth is, she never threatened anyone. One person’s word is not fact unless backed up by the evidence, and everyone involved in the investigation said there was no threat. They said this was a mental health report and would be treated as such.
The truth is someone betrayed their badge and promise to serve and protect because it was more important to hurt someone because they’re different.
The truth is, everyone who knows her knows she’d never say or do such a thing, and we are all hurting from the character assassination carried out this last month.
The truth is students feel safe with her. They love her, and miss her, and can not wait for her to come back. They see her differences in love and respect her. They know she’d stand in harm’s way to protect them, and she has her whole career.
The truth is, the few of you who will only believe the lies will hear me tonight. And you haven’t believed for the last month when the truth was the truth was clear and evident.
You’d rather us leave and be gone to stop serving our purpose and caring for our students. But we will not stop. We will continue to fight for our students and love them despite the attacks. Because the truth is we love our students, and they need us now more than ever.
And finally, the truth is, this could happen to anyone. No one is safe in this hateful social-political climate, So please be kind, as you never know what someone is going through. And thank you to those who have supported us and seen the truth. You have held us above water as people have tried to drown us. We’re forever grateful.”
