Alachua County Schools Spokeswoman Says Two SFHS Faculty Remain Suspended

Former Santa Fe High School (SFHS) assistant principal David Rendek and SFHS Athletic Director Michele Faulk will remain suspended in the current school year, Alachua County School Board (SBAC) Communications Director Jackie Johnson told GnvInfo in an email. Johnson said Rendek was employed as an assistant principal with Buchholz High School at the time of his suspension.

Rendek and Faulk both were suspended on November 1, two days after attorney Bobbi J. Frank filed a lawsuit on behalf of a parent against the City of Alachua and the Alachua County School Board (SBAC) alleging they, along with now-retired SFHS principal Timothy Wright, allowed the parent’s child, the victim, to be sexually harassed by SFHS baseball coach Travis Yeckring.

Yeckring hasn’t been criminally charged, but SFHS remains under federal investigation, and Rendek, Faulk and Wright have active sworn complaints filed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), but no warrants have been issued and the State Attorney’s Office hasn’t filed any charges.

According to the lawsuit, Yeckring exposed a sexually explicit photo of himself to the victim, causing anxiety and at least one migraine episode. The victim tried to avoid Yeckring, but a week after the incident, encountered him in a hallway where he made sexually charged statements towards her, the lawsuit states.

The victim told her teacher about the incidents, and the teacher had her go to the front office to make a report. The victim told Rendek about the incidents, and he allegedly stated, “This is not the first time I have heard this type of thing about Yeckring.” The victim wrote a formal witness statement in front of Rendek, but her parents were not informed, and Rendek did not report the matter to authorities or maintain the written statement, the lawsuit stated. 

A couple weeks later, the victim entered her classroom to find Yeckring was substituting for her teacher. Panic-stricken, the victim called her mother, who told her to go to the principal’s office.

The victim went to speak with Wright, who allegedly stated, "We have had some issues in the past like this with Yeckring. This is not the first time I have heard this.” After the victim reported the incidents, Faulk entered the room, and she was forced to recount them yet again, but neither she nor Wright reported the matter to authorities, the lawsuit states. 

The lawsuit states sometime prior to the victim’s report, Faulk threatened to bench a student she coached for referring to Yeckring as “Pedo-Yeck.”

According to the lawsuit, Yeckring’s personnel file contained no reports of sexual harassment; however, a pre-litigation investigation showed SBAC employees received reports on Yeckring sexually harassing the victim. 

According to the lawsuit, SBAC “took no action to suspend, investigate, report, dismiss, punish or properly supervise Yeckring after students repeatedly reported incidents of sexual harassment, child abuse and/or child neglect to caretakers and/or mandatory reporters employed by ACSB, placing M.A. in a foreseeable zone of risk to be sexually harassed, groomed abused and/or neglected by Yeckring.”

Yeckring was only suspended after his alleged offenses were made public.  

At the time the lawsuit was filed, Rendek and Faulk remained employed by SBAC, only being suspended after the case was filed. 

According to the lawsuit, “Despite the fact that Yeckring did not physically touch [the victim, her] emotional trauma manifested physically immediately following each event, in between the events, and long after. She immediately suffered from debilitating physical illness including, but not limited to, migraines-at least one being ocular preventing her from being able to drive, walk, eat, or get out of bed. She also suffered from nausea, sweating, fidgeting, stomach pain, loss of appetite, severe weight loss, hair loss, irregular menstruation cycle, and she was unable to concentrate, retain, or comprehend information which led to her grades significantly declining. Anxiety and depression became her new normal…  The 2024-2025 school year is [her] Senior year in High School and, rather than being able to enjoy all that comes with being a Senior in High School, she is unable to return to SFHS grounds because of the overwhelming physical, psychological and emotional trauma which she suffers. The one time that [the victim] did return to the SFHS grounds, she went with her Mother. On that occasion an ACSB employee treated her with disdain.”

On January 16, 2025, the City of Alachua motioned to dismiss the lawsuit, stating, “The grounds upon which the City is believed to be liable are unclear.”

The lawsuit argued that the City of Alachua is liable because an Alachua Police Department school resource officer knew about the sexual misconduct and didn’t report it.

The dismissal motion states, “The Complaint describes very specific incidents in which [the victim] is claiming to have notified School Board employees about alleged inappropriate conduct by Yeckring. To the contrary, Plaintiff makes no allegations of [the victim] or anyone else reporting the ‘sexual incidents’ to the City. Plaintiff does not identify the City employee or employees who she asserts knew about the complaints, nor does she specify the contents or context of the complaints. Likewise, she does not provide any detail regarding the ‘repeated complaints’ of sexual misconduct. These ambiguous accusations against the City are unsupported by a factual basis and make it impossible for the City to determine what is being alleged and how to respond… [The] Plaintiff has also failed to specify whether the alleged tort was committed within the scope of the unknown employee's employment or if it was committed in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property. As such, Plaintiff's claim fails and the City should be dismissed."

The dismissal motion cites case law, stating, “Responding to reports and investigating criminal activity are duties that law enforcement owe to the public as a whole, not to individuals.”

On January 17, 2025, the SBAC motioned to dismiss the case. 

The dismissal motion states, “Florida does not recognize a cause of action for sexual harassment, abuse, neglect, and grooming under a common law negligence theory. A party cannot negligently commit an intentional tort… The School Board owes no duty to ensure its employees follow the law or follow the mandatory reporting statutes.”

Arbour submitted motions of opposition to both dismissal motions, citing Florida’s mandatory reporting law and stating the defendants relied on legal technicalities, while courts generally allow cases to be solved on merit. 

Judge Donna Keim granted both dismissal motions in March and April 2025. 

The lawsuit may not have succeeded in the court of law, but it led to Faulk and Rendek getting suspended months earlier than if they had been placed on leave when the criminal charges were pressed in June 2025.

Court records show Rendek has submitted a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial, despite no warrant being out for his arrest. Rendek has retained the services of Glassman & Zissimopulos law firm.

Wright and Faulk’s cases haven’t progressed.