The athletic director and assistant principal are both on paid leave after failing to report sexual harassment allegations a student made against the school’s baseball coach. At Sante Fe High School in Alachua, Fla., baseball coach Travis Yeckring is accused of making sexually explicit comments and showing explicit photos of himself to a student.
According to WCJB 20, “the female student reported the incidents to the administrators twice. The student says the administrators told her that they were aware of other allegations against Yeckring.”
The Alachua Chronicle reported that even after her first report, the student “entered her scheduled class to find that Yeckring was the substitute teacher for that class. She said she was ‘panic stricken’ and called her mother, who advised her to go speak with the Principal.” However, no action was taken by administrators following the second report, either.
After months of inaction, the student’s mother filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Alachua School Board and City of Alachua on behalf of her daughter. The lawsuit accuses the assistant principal, Mac Rendeck, athletic director, Michele Faulk, and former principal, Timothy Wright, of failing to report the harassment. It goes on to say that these school leaders had a duty to protect students, and they failed.
Attorney Bobi Frank who represents the mother and student said, “The individuals at the school have a duty to protect the children. When they don’t, they have to be held accountable.”
Yeckring was placed on administrative leave last school year only after The Florida Department of Law Enforcement began investigating Yeckring for crimes against children. The timeline of the alleged harassment, investigation and lawsuit is long, spanning from the 2022-23 school year to now, and the road to justice for the students will likely continue into the new year.
