Mom sues Seminole County Schools over superintendent selection

LAKE MARY, Fla. - A Seminole County mother is suing the Seminole County School Board over its recent superintendent search and selection process.

Brittany Walker contends that the board violated its own rules when it rescinded an offer to a Lake County administrator before naming an attorney for the district to the top position.

This week, the board named Serita Beamon as the new superintendent, approved by a 3-2 vote. Days earlier, the board voted 3-2 to rescind an offer to Chad Farnsworth. 

Farnsworth, the assistant superintendent for the Lake County school district, was selected for the job early last month in a 3-2 vote. Farnsworth and Beamon were finalists to replace Superintendent Walt Griffin, who is retiring.

While the board had already chosen Farnsworth as the next superintendent, a board-approved contract had not yet been executed, according to a school district spokesman.

The lawsuit claims Superintendent Walt Griffin pressured one or more school board members to bring the issue up again at another meeting. In the end, one board member changed their vote taking the job away from Farnsworth and choosing Beamoninstead instead.

"We're not talking about race or gender or qualification, or whether one is an attorney and the other's and educator -- those are all facts for society to deal with separately. We're talking about the fact that lawmakers cannot be lawbreakers, and here, the rules were not followed," said Philip Kaprow, who is representing Walker in the lawsuit.

FOX 35 News reached out to the Seminole County School District and was told it is unable to comment on pending litigation.

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