ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A St. Johns County principal has been placed on administrative leave after a song lyric from Rapper Fetty Wap’s ‘Trap Queen’ was included on the first page of the school’s yearbook.
The Trout Creek Academy yearbook page read, “Everybody hating, we just call them fans though! -Mrs. O’Connell.”
But the principal, Katie O’Connell, says she did not write this, nor did she approve of it.
“I approved the yearbook twice on April 9, and so did my assistant principal, Miss Saruk, and that quote in that area was not even in the book,” O’Connell said. “It said mrs. O’Connell, too. And all my students know I’ve never been Mrs. O’Connell. I’m Miss O.”
O’Connell received a letter from the St. Johns County School District informing her that she would be placed on administrative leave with pay beginning Wednesday, May 20, citing an allegation of “inappropriate conduct.”
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A letter sent to her two days later states, “Please understand that this action is being taken as we move towards a non-reappointment for the 2026-2027 school year.” It goes on to state that O’Connell is not allowed on any property of the St. Johns County School District unless directed by the school administration or Human Resources.
In documents obtained by Action News Jax, emails from Assistant Principal Samantha Sawruk and Yearbook Teacher Jodi Stobe also claim that the quote was not in the yearbook when the admin proofread it the night before submission.
In an email, Sawruk wrote the following:
Good Afternoon,
I am writing to share additional context for the yearbook quote currently making rounds on Facebook on the “Families of Trout Creek” page.
On April 9th, the day prior to submission, just after lunch, admin was asked to assist with the grammatical proof reading of our yearbook. Errors were found with spelling, with pronouns and incorrect verb tenses. We specifically edited several instances of “Ms. versus Mrs.”
The quote on the first page, which was present after printing, “Everybody hatin’, we just call them fans though” was not there during the proofreading done on April 9th. On this quote, it is signed “Mrs. O’Connell”. This is not how Ms. O’Connell signs her name, she always uses, “Ms. O” as is evident in her weekly communications with families and messages/posters around the school. Had the quote been there at the time of admin editing; it would have been corrected.
Thank you,
Samantha Sawruk
O’Connell says not only did she not approve of the quote, but she didn’t even know about it until someone sent her Facebook screenshots.
“There were certain parents that went straight to the district, or straight to the news, or straight to Facebook. None of them even called me. I received zero phone calls, or emails, or any questions about the yearbook,” O’Connell said. “All I needed was the time or the opportunity to have fixed an error that was made, and it wasn’t made by me.”
Despite an email from Stobe claiming that O’Connell did not see the quote in the yearbook, documents sent by the St. Johns County School District show conflicting answers.
When interviewed by Gene Bennett, the ESE Coordinator of Special Programs in St. Johns County, about if O’Connell saw proof of the copy before Stobe handed them out, Stobe answered, “Yes. Ms. O’Connell said, ‘Oh, my quote made it.’”
But O’Connell says that it could’ve been a student.
“Evidence shows that it was a student that placed it in there after we had already given final approval,” O’Connell said. “Me and Ms. Sawruk gave final approval and said, ‘Go ahead and send it.’ I have no idea why there was an edit made to that yearbook after.”
O’Connell has retained Jack Webb, an attorney specializing in complex business, employment, administrative, and governmental matters. The demand letter sent to the St. Johns County School District argues that O’Connell was denied her due process procedures.
“It’s a bunch of garbage is what it is,” Webb said. “She’s getting thrown under the bus for something she was not responsible for.
Webb says that when O’Connell met with the district, she was told that if she wanted her counsel present, she would be immediately suspended.
“If you go through the documents, you’re going to find inconsistencies in the evidence that was presented to the school people, the school board people, in whatever this star chamber of an investigation that they conducted,” Webb said.
He also says that O’Connell has experienced heaps of harassment.
“We live in the age of social media where this stuff can kind of go viral and get crazy real fast,” Webb said. “Some of the people were screaming about this, some of the loudest don’t even have children in the school.”
O’Connell says she also received a threat at 3:22 a.m. Friday morning — one that led her to talk to the sheriff’s office.
“I have an exemplary record. My school scores are amazing. I have 92% teacher retention. I have five straight years of being highly effective in St. Johns County schools,” O’Connell said. “There’s no reason to throw away someone’s career or to hurt a family like this.”
O’Connell says she wants to return as a principal, but it won’t be at Trout Creek Academy.
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