Ohio moms speak out about schools alleged retaliation campaign hurting their children
Amy Gonzalez and Andrea Gross had been outspoken about their school's purported left-wing curriculum.
EXCLUSIVE – An Ohio school allegedly launched a bullying campaign against two moms, accusing them of being "threats" after they exposed left-wing bias in the school, according to a complaint.
Amy Gonzalez and Andrea Gross said Columbus Academy denied re-enrollment to their children after the parents started asking questions about the school's curriculum and fiduciary compliance matters, according to the complaint filed on June 12. Their requests for transparency were met with an "overreaction" from the administration, the moms said.
"And so when I say an overreaction, I mean an overreaction of calling the police on us, alerting almost 900 faculty members that they had alerted the FBI that we were dangerous. Just things that were so far beyond the pale that it would lead one to ask why? Why is the reaction so extreme?" Gross said.
Gross added the alleged retaliation campaign caused the community to turn against her and her family. The tension was so pervasive, Gross' daughter left the state to go to another school.
Ohio moms speak out about alleged retaliation in an interview with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital )
"Upon information and belief, the Academy’s vicious treatment of the Parent Plaintiffs, and by relation, their children, including improperly invoking governmental investigative agencies, disseminating false information, and engaging in a coordinated effort to destroy their reputations in the community, was retaliation to prevent any further inquiry financial wrongdoing of the Academy," the complaint said.
The school categorically denied all allegations in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, "These allegations are entirely without any legal merit or factual basis whatsoever."
The complaint, which was filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Franklin County that seeks compensation for damages, also elaborated on the school environment, which was allegedly hostile to conservative students.
Some of the instruction included critical race theory and was believed by the moms to be "indoctrination," Fox News Digital previously reported.
"One teacher stated, on the first day of class, that he would not communicate with any student who supported President Trump," the complaint said. "Politically charged issues were regularly taught and discussed in the classroom without opposing viewpoints presented."
The complaint also said the school did not offer inclusion to Latinos as much as other minority groups. Gonzalez's daughter is Latina.
In response to these concerns, the moms released a public letter expressing their concerns, namely that some students were subjected to "[i]ntimidation and bullying… based on their political beliefs."
After that, the complaint said, "the Academy’s head of Security… filed a false police report against the Parent Plaintiffs with the Gahanna Police Department."
The school followed up by notifying faculty it had reported Gonzalez and Gross to the FBI, according to the complaint. Gonzalez believed it was "predatory alienation."
The school said they reported the Ohio moms to the FBI, according to the complaint. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
"I believe that whenever they weaponize a federal agency in order to intimidate us and to promulgate fear in the faculty, they never told the entire community as far as parents that they had alerted the FBI. But they told the teachers that. So, you know, teachers walked out of that meeting, like, are we supposed to be afraid or what exactly does this mean?" Gonzalez said.
"During the meeting when faculty was told the FBI had been alerted, the environment was such that one of the Academy’s faculty members raised his/her hand and asked if the Child Plaintiffs should be treated differently. Another member of faculty stated, ‘it sounds like we have a mole,’" the complaint said.
"The actions of the Academy and those of its affiliates, as directed by the Academy, had an extreme impact on the wellbeing of Plaintiffs. The Academy falsely accused the Parent Plaintiffs of being dangerous to the health and wellbeing of the entire Academy community and destroyed their reputations with many of the people they had spent years working and learning with," the complaint continued.
Parents around the country have stood up against critical race theory in the education system. (iStock / Amazon)
Columbus Academy also referred Fox News Digital to an earlier statement.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"[A]ny parent who waged a public campaign of false and misleading statements and inflammatory attacks harmful to the employees, the reputation, or the financial stability of Columbus Academy would be in clear violation of the Enrollment Agreement and would be denied re-enrollment for the following school year."