School Board Learns About Lawsuit; Elects Leaders, Approves Security Cameras Purchase for HJB

The Warren County School Board, during its Wednesday, January 3 meeting, learned that a Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) math teacher earlier in the day filed a lawsuit on behalf of her daughter alleging that three other school division employees, including WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger, failed to provide the high school student with proper education. 

Amy Flora (above), a Warren County math teacher, has filed a lawsuit against three WCPS defendants.

Amy Flora, a math teacher at Warren County High School (WCHS) for more than a decade, said during the board’s community participation portion of its meeting that she filed a complaint yesterday in the Circuit Court of the Commonwealth of Virginia in Warren County against fellow WCHS Math Teacher Jennifer Burnworth, WCHS Principal Kenneth Knesh, Jr., and Ballenger.

“I do not believe that this school system puts the interests of its students first because my daughter is not just one — she is just one more that this County has failed,” said Flora, who is also president of secondary education and treasurer of the Warren County Education Association (WCEA).

While Flora would not discuss the details of the lawsuit during the board’s meeting, the Royal Examiner obtained a copy of the 24-page complaint earlier yesterday after it was filed with the court.

In the complaint’s summary, Amy Flora contends that Burnworth defamed her 17-year-old daughter, a senior honors student attending WCHS who was taking a dual enrollment statistics class with Burnworth during the fall semester.

Specifically, Burnworth slandered her daughter to her classmates, refused to teach her, violating the student’s right to a free, appropriate public education, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon her daughter, according to the lawsuit. 

In the complaint, the Floras seek $100,000 in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. “Theoretically, it could be applied to each,” according to their attorney, Timothy Johnson, with Northern Valley Law PLC in Berryville, Va.

The complaint also states that Knesh and Ballenger, during at least the last six months, were “fully apprised” of Amy Flora’s warnings that Burnworth “was engaging in unjustifiably harassing behaviors toward her daughter but did nothing to stop the bullying (by either the teacher or the students)” — nor did the high school address Burnworth’s alleged conduct. 

That failure, according to the complaint, fostered a bullying environment that resulted in the school requesting that her daughter not attend Burnworth’s class “due to threats of violence and property damage being lodged against her.” 

Specifically, Count 1 in the complaint claims Burnworth, who also serves as the dual enrollment teacher with Laurel Ridge Community College, inflicted intentional emotional distress upon her daughter and lists several incidents in which such alleged misconduct took place, including one classroom incident with Burnworth on video.

Count 2 alleges Burnworth defamed her daughter by making statements to other students and classmates about her that were false. 

Count 3 claims Burnworth is also liable for gross negligence related to her alleged “demeaning or otherwise harmful actions” against her daughter, among other allegations. 

Count 4 against Knesh claims the principal inflicted intentional emotional distress upon her daughter by, among several allegations, publicly restricting the student from attending her statistics class in front of her classmates while at the same time not taking actions to identify and address the students who made threats against her safety, the lawsuit says. 

Counts 5 and 6 claim gross negligence by Knesh and Ballenger, respectively, for not addressing Burnworth’s alleged misconduct toward her daughter and for not ensuring that she received an education in an atmosphere conducive to learning, among other “breaches of duty” listed in the lawsuit. 

Burnworth, Knesh, and Ballenger did not respond to initial inquiries from the Royal Examiner, and the board members, per policy, did not address Flora’s public statements during their meeting.

“I will not discuss the details [of the lawsuit] as this is not the time or place,” Flora told board members last night. “However, I would like to acknowledge that just hours before the holiday break, a spiteful response to false claims led to notification that I would be transferred to a different school upon my return.”

Flora was referring to her transfer from WCHS to Skyline High School for this semester. The transfer was announced to Flora in December after Burnworth filed an internal complaint against her in November, and the WCHS administration found that Flora had created an “abusive work environment,” according to Flora’s lawsuit.

“This decision [to transfer me] callously and carelessly ripped apart bonds that have been created and nurtured, in some cases, for many years,” Flora said. “It also inflicts more pain upon my child.” 

Flora told the board members that her lawsuit was not in retaliation to that decision and that her complaint had, in fact, been in motion weeks prior to the transfer decision.

Effective immediately, Flora also said she was stepping down from both of her WCEA positions and said she would not return to WCPS for the next school year.

“The cruelty of the events that occurred… have completely broken me,” Flora told the School Board. “Now, I am not just another teacher; I am just another teacher who has decided not to return next year.”

Board actions

Warren County School Board members Kristen Pence, Antoinette Funk, Andrea Lo, Tom McFadden Jr., and Melanie Salins were present during Wednesday’s meeting.

Pence (above) was unanimously re-elected to serve as the board’s chair, while Funk was unanimously elected to serve as vice chair. Other members were appointed to board committees.

The board also voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of security cameras for Hilda J. Barbour Elementary School from ePlus Inc., which is headquartered in Herndon, Va.

Funding for the purchase will come from the 2023 Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) Security Grant, which is helping school districts offset the costs associated with buying qualifying security equipment to improve student safety in Virginia schools. 

WCPS received $24,000 through the grant, and the School Board approved a local match of 25 percent of the grant award for a contract award to ePlus totaling $29,738.20.

The School Board also unanimously approved both its 2024 meeting calendar and authorization to advertise for a public hearing to be held on February 7 on the WCPS fiscal year 2025 budget. If the February 7 meeting is canceled, the follow-up date for the public hearing will be February 21.

Among other actions, the School Board voted 5-0 to renew the annual agreement WCPS has with McGriff Insurance Services for employee benefits and insurance services.

To watch the January 3 School Board meeting in its entirety, go to: https://wcps.new.swagit.com/videos/292627.