With a Pine View School teacher under investigation by Sarasota County schools for a longstanding clash with a middle school student, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has gone quiet.
Uthmeier last month posted on social media that the history teacher, Elizabeth Ballard, appeared to be “bullying” the eighth-grade male student and suggested she could be fired.
But for now, Uthmeier is letting a Sarasota County School Board investigation play out.
The Sarasota County School Board responded last week to Uthmeier’s demand for a report on the Ballard case and told the state’s top legal officer that an investigation is currently underway in the matter.
“Attorney General Uthmeier is clear that, if the allegations are true, Ms. Ballard should be dismissed
and her educator certificate revoked,” Forrest Saunders, Uthmeier’s communications director said Oct. 6.
Jason Means, president of the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association, which is representing Ballard in the dispute, said the Florida attorney general has no role to play and that it appears that politics is amplifying the matter.
Sarasota teachers union chief to attorney general: 'Stay in your lane'
“Sarasota County schools are already investigating it,” Means said.
Regarding Uthmeier, he added, “As I’ve said before, ‘stay in your lane.’”
A Sarasota Schools Human Resources account detailed that a lingering clash developed after the student made a host of controversial comments disrupting class, some involving abortion and others about assaulting women.
The HR report described a “history of negative interactions” between Ballard and the student, going back to November 2024. The student’s name is redacted in the HR and investigative documents, but a range of accounts from those involved indicate that the student’s family is politically influential and close to School Board member Karen Rose, an appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Uthmeier, himself, is a former DeSantis chief-of-staff appointed attorney general last year by the governor. In November, he is seeking his first election as attorney general.
Ballard was accused of calling the student a “misogynist” in a letter Uthmeier sent to the school board Sept. 21, ten days after a complaint against the teacher was filed with the board.
Sarasota school board response cites three completed probes, one underway
The school board in its five-page response to Uthmeier noted that the latest investigation is the fourth involving Ballard this year. Of the three earlier probes, all appear to involve the student, with one closed based on no support for the allegations and the other two resulting in findings of teacher misconduct.
Ballard was given a three-day suspension without pay in April and then issued another five-day suspension in May, which she is appealing. The first suspension involved Ballard being accused of behaving in an “unprofessional manner” toward the student and that she “intentionally targeted them.”
The second, still under appeal, stemmed from allegations that Ballard made false statements about the student.
The HR report characterized back-and-forths Ballard had with the student’s family, attempting to keep the student from making provocative comments that disrupted classes. While the meetings were initially productive, the report indicates the parents grew frustrated and complained about Ballard.
Ballard, a 20-year teacher, acknowledged in the report, “In hindsight, I wish I had written a referral and let the office handle it.”
Sarasota County School Board member Tom Edwards said he was sorry the situation had become so contentious.
“Based on my knowledge of the three previous and closed investigations, I believe that Ms. Ballard’s heart was in the right place in trying to solve a perceived problem that the student was bringing into the classroom through his comments and questions,” Edwards said. “In this political environment, I’m not sure that was the wisest decision.
“If it were me, I’d be looking to get outside administration involved to get guidance on how to avoid what did occur, which was the perception that she was singling this student out,” he added.
John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@usatodayco.com, or on X at @JKennedyReport.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Pine View teacher case awaits next move from attorney general
