The Lake Wales Charter School District voted 5-1 to fire Superintendent Wayne Rodolfich on Friday after an investigation into complaints that he had created a hostile work environment and racially discriminated against at least one employee.

The vote to fire Rodolfich came after an investigation convinced a majority of the district’s board that allegations against him had been substantiated.

The district had hired a Tampa law firm in April to investigate the grievances. An attorney with the Barbas Cremer firm and the district’s attorney, Robin Gibson, had met individually before Friday’s special meeting with each board member to give them her findings. They were provided with summaries of statements gathered during the investigation. In all, 30 individuals were interviewed by the firm.

Based on those summaries provided to the board, only Brian Marbutt voted to delay the termination.

He, like Gibson, had urged the board to wait until Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting after Gibson had had time to discuss an agreement with Rodolfich’s attorney for his resignation.

The district’s human resources director, LaQuanda Burroughs, first made the board aware of the allegations against Rodolfich during a March 22 special meeting. She told them she had received three confidential complaints against the superintendent.

At the district’s next special meeting on March 28, the board voted to hire Barbas Cremer, which specializes in employment matters, for an investigation into possible violations of state and federal employment laws.

Rodolfich had been working from home since then. Rodolfich was hired by the district in July 2022. His annual salary was $178,000. He was not present at Friday’s special meeting.

Several board members made statements Friday before the vote, adding they were “shocked” at the findings of the investigation, which had “substantiated” the allegations.

They also said they felt the employees who had come forward showed courage and the board needed to protect the hundreds of employees who work for the district in matters similar to this case.

The first member of the board to speak out about Cremer’s findings was Tonya Stewart.

“As a Black woman, I’m offended and outraged by what I heard,” she said of her meeting with Cremer. “I think he needs to leave now and don’t get a dime.”

The allegations started on March 19 when an employee submitted a complaint to Burroughs saying Rodolfich had created a “toxic and hostile work environment.”

The complaint referred to his conduct over a year of interactions between the employee and the superintendent and it listed all the staff members in the district’s administrative office as witnesses by name.

Rodolfich is alleged to have yelled at an employee and pounded on a table at 8 a.m. March 18, the day before the grievance was submitted.

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“It has also been reported that Dr. Rodolfich has discriminated against and singled out an employee due to ‘my race,’ in quotes,” Burroughs said.

Throughout the March special meeting, Rodolfich gave brief statements after Burroughs was finished with her report to the trustees.

“This is the first time that I have been made aware that anyone in my office has an issue with my communication,” he said, adding the meeting occurred after staff had returned from spring break.

“I just want everyone to understand that I was not aware that anyone was offended by anything that I had said at any meeting prior to or during because anyone that ever has been has come to my office and told me how they felt,” he said.

Rodolfich said he has a “spotless” record since he has been superintendent and asked for his and his family’s sake that the trustees treat him with fairness.

He also said he welcomed an investigation into his conduct. He added, “The issue that I have is the ramifications to my 30-year professional career over one incident, that is alleged to be an incident.”

He also wanted the HR activity as it relates to the grievance to be reviewed and the background of the people making the grievances looked into.

“I have a different interpretation of the meeting,” Rodolfich said.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Wales charter school superintendent fired after investigation