the public part of the meeting just wrapped up where some people were speaking in support of katherine leroy, others saying it's a good thing she left. she has always ban contentious as you said, leroy submitted her resignation. that comes in the wake of an description that took months to complete. it centered on the personal relationship between leroy and a top staffer, gregory rivers. its concluded that leroy did nothing illegal but may have crossed the line professionally. many members of the community says she has to go, and that's the bottom line. one of the most outspoken critics of leroy standing next to me, dr. wendy bradshaw. are you happy? >> i think it's an unfortunate situation. we'd prefer these things not happen. but when you're in charge of leading an organization that is serving children, like the public school system, you need to be held to a higher moral standard. so even though she was found not guilty of any legal wrongdoing, we want to send the message, just because -- we don't want to send the message, just because you didn't break the laugh it's okay to be unprofession

some members say they don't have confidence in katherine leroy even after being cleared of misconduct accusations. haley hinds has more for us tonight. >> and today's work session was a discussion on the future of the district and whether or not the future should include the superintendent katherine leroy. the board is split, some saying that she has to go, others saying she deserve as chance to redeem herself. >> and some of it -- >> eroded trust, lost confidence that's how the board members present tuesday describe their feelings for the leader. >> i believe that our superintendent can no lodgesser the ceo of the polk county school district. >> and three members say the superintendent has to go and they're ready to vote on it, when i was made aware of the client i said there would be no winners only losers. we have all lost, she was thrust into the spotlight after the associate superintendent filed nine misconduct claims against her claiming sexual harassment and creating as who file environment when he declined to take the relationship further. an investigation later cleared leroy

they will discuss a replacement for katherine leroy. it is a dark cloud over the district and that they want the board to pick someone who knows the district but free of bag ang. this will send a signal what direction the relationship between teachers and administrators is going in. >> aurora environment is the kid's environment. when you say i'm not worth a i take what you give me and i pour it back into them f you don't give me what i need to do my job, pay, whether it is support in the classroom,ky not do my job like you want me to. >> reporter: the teachers are planning to go into the meeting that starts here in several minutes. they are planning to go in and make their voices heard. you can see there are 50 of them here outside. the board will select top administrator jackie byrd as a interim superintendent. the teachers are not thrilled about that because of the fact that she is a member of what they call the old regime and that regime has issues and problems right now so they're going to make their voices heard. it should be inte

.@ @>> developing tonight, polk @county superintendent katherine @leroy has resigned. @she was facing termination @tonight by the school board, but @>> indeed. @live in polk county with more, @what a day, josh. @>> yeah, certainly a lot of @tension here tonight. @we heard a lot of back and forth @during the public comment, both @for and against the @superintendent. @in the end, the board approved @her resignation and with that @comes some very big compensation @dollars. @>> rather than face what could @have been a literal firing @squad, polk county @superintendent katherine leroy @resigned saturday raf afternoon, @much to the delight of this @teacher at southwest middle @school. @>> absolutely the right move. @we need to move forward as a @district, we need to move @forward as teachers, we need to @change where we've been. @>> and to the chagrin of others @like edwina hall, leroy's @executive assistant. @>> i watched as she tirelessly @built teams and integrated @academic success of the students @in polk county, but to enhance @their quality of life and @prepare them t

. >> reporter: katherine leroy appeared before the board after she was cleared of several complaints launched against her. >> allow me to apologize for any failure of my part. i take responsibility for that. school board members admit progress was made under the superintendent, but there is still a problem. >> her style is not appropriate for the polk county school system. i have lost confidence in her ability to lead. >> reporter: the superintendent has not lost the support of all board members. newschannel8. >>> if your commute took you over i-275 northbound today. chances are it was a lot better than it has been. overnight, road crews opened a fourth lane on 275 northbound. they also restored the auxiliary break down lane. when the morning rush hit the area, everything flowed pretty nicely. >>> tonight, the count of zika cases in florida is holding steady at 16. health officials in pinellas county answered questions about the virus. while hillsborough county has three cases of zika, none are reported in pinellas. but a mosquito expert says they are keeps a close eye on the bugs th

board members met for the first time with the interim superintendent for the first time since katherine leroy stepped down. >> i would want anyone to feel comfortable to apply. >> reporter: the superintendent jacqueline bird will now serve as the interim superintendent. it follows the resignation of a superintendent accused by a subordinate of sexual harassment. >> are they ready the move forward? >> definitely. but we need to get rid of the drama and go back to focusing children. >> reporter: even the associate suspect who lost the complaint told me he is ready to move on. >> i think mrs. bird is going to do a good job. >> reporter: the head of the teacher's union want to have a with the new suspect. >> we are hoping they will find a superintendent that first of all understands collective bargaining and understands the fact that employees have rights and understands that to move a district forward, you need many elements to work together. >> reporter: and it is expected that the school board will approve a contract for the interim superintendent later tonight. it would last until a permanent

two weeks ago the school board accepted superintendent katherine leroy's resignation. that she sexually harassed a supported that the and created -- subordinate and created a hostile work environment. >>> the state attorney's office wants to charge a 15-year-old panhandle boy as an adult for the shooting death of his 10- year-old sister. the deputies say frederick lockridge admitted to shooting his sister while teaching her how to shoot a rifle. isabella was reported missing sunday morning, hours later investigators found her body in a field behind her home. the report says frederick moved her body and changed her clothes. he's now charged with murder. >>> police are investigating a las vegas hotel where a woman was found dead at the bottom of a laundry chute. staff at the d las vegas hotel found her early sunday morning. the 27-year-old was in town with her husband from birthday. detectives say surveillance video shows her at one point walking into a maid's closet, so far police are calling it a suspicious death, not a homicide. >>> meanwhile, nevada will also become center stage for r

the seesht superintendent filed nine claims against katherine leroy. he said they were close friends until his boss tried to take the relationship a step further. said he was reprimanded on the job. an independent review found that while they did share a personal relationship, the superintendent did not break any rules. today, she released a recorded statement, regarding her exoneration. >> i have come to realize that what others describe as an outgoing personality can be misinterpreted by some. i regret that. i have learned from it. >> now the firm handling the investigation recommends that leroy and the cabinet get additional sexual harassment training. >> new tonight, it could be the middle ground that ride-sharing services in the hillsborough transportation commission have been trying to reach. a bill was advanced to force an end to the legal mess between the county and uber and lyft, requiring them to pay annual fees to the department of highway and motor vehicles, similar to the ones that cab ited would include provisions for background checks an

. >> polk county superintendent katherine leroy started the work session with an apology. >> i'm ready to put this behind me and move forward. i'm wholly dedicated to the students and staff and the goal and expectations of the board and the community. >> she has been the focus of an internal investigation after greg rivers filed nine claims against her. he accused her of sexual harassment, pursuing a relationship beyond professional boundaries and creating a declined. >> they can say what they wish >> an investigation cleared her of misconduct but not concerns of the board. >> i have lost confidence in mrs. leroy's ability to continue leading the polk county public school system. >> board members all echoed the same entment. >> the district deserves better, it will be impossible for the superintendent to regain respect for our stake holders. >> it's not clear which way two are leaning, we have to be fair to everyone involved but first, we have an obligation to our students. >> reporter: and there is a 30-day suspension as the appropriate discipline. >> she should be given an opportunit

. >>> we could hear firsthand today from the polk county superintendent katherine leroy. she hasn't spoken publicly since being cleared of sexual harassment claims made by associate greg rivers. rodney dunigan with more. >> reporter: >> we're having technical difficulties with rodney's report. we'll get back to him a little later in the show. >>> a big development in madeira beach getting the green light. city leaders voted to move forward with the holiday isles project, the largest development ever in this ever. it would create condos, hotels and restaurants on a mostly vacant lot at the bottom of the about the size of the buildings so the developer agreed to reduce the size of one of them before last night's vote. >>> in citrus county 300 manatees trying to stay warm at three sisters springs. wildlife officials temporarily closed it to boaters due to the high numbers of manatees gadgeereds there. the boardwalk, does remain open so you can still view them in person. >> they're smart getting out of the cold. >>> absolutely. temperatures in the 50s. we're looking at the hi

two weeks ago the school board accepted the superintendent katherine leroy's resignation district. she was cleared of allegations she sexually harassed a intoed -- subordinate and created a hostile work environment. >>> detectives in pinellas county need help to track down thieves. five people seen taking 10 bottles of top shelf vodka from a publix in largo. everyone leaves the store without paying. the suspects might be in a silver suv and dodge dart. >>> looking for a job or know hillsborough county public schools looking for teachers but you have to act quickly. the deadline to turn in your application is next friday, if you want to be in the classroom year. there's a meeting tonight, going to happen at east bay high school, 6:00, if you want to learn more about how to all the information is posted on ourtiontion mobile app. >>> -- abc action news mobile app. >>> we could learn in hours when president obama plans to close one of the most notorious military prisons. we took you inside guantanamo bay where fewer than 100 prisoners remain. for years the president has been working t

. >> we've been telling you about superintendent katherine leroy, outside claim. he told the investigators leroy him and tailored a job position in order to hire a lover from her past. according to the report, that person never even applied for the job. investigators now say leroy didn't do anything illegal. >>> well, more than 1,000 marion county students stay home because of rumors of a threat. >> why i have to worry about showing up there and if i'm going to get hurt. >> coming up, how the confederate flag sparked the controversy. >> and cameras were rolling when deputies say a woman snatched an elderly woman's purse and almost ran over two people while getting away. . >> i can see this little lady, running, and she's hollering help. >> hear how one good samaritan says she jumped in to try to stop the thief, next. . >> there it is, 81 degrees in >>> you're watching channel 9 eyewitness news at 4:00, coverage you can count on. >>> new this hour, what we're hearing from one of the good samaritans who jumped in to try to catch a thief, snatching an elderly woman's

millions of dollars apart and negotiations stalled as the board dealt with the resignation of katherine leroy over allegations of sex harassment. >> i am a big believer in you have to move forward. so the shadow only lasts as long as it has to. >> in an interview bird made clear she is ready to lift that shadow. >> there's conversations we can't discuss right now. but we're listening. and we're looking at what we can do. >> reporter: bird says she will visit each school as a show of support rather than to micro-manage. she pledges to put the focus back on students. >> there's a lot on the list right now. we just need to take a deep breath. we're going be okay. and take one day at a time and all work together. >> reporter: until a replacement is named bird's interim contract allows her to serve indefinitely and to apply for the job if she wants it. desire to be. but i am committed to this district to do what i need to do to help them move toward locating a superintendent and doing what they need do for the students and community. >> reporter: interestingly the board originally said she could o