Katie O\u2019Connell, the principal of Trout Creek Academy in St. Johns County, was placed on administrative leave after a lyric from the rapper\u2019s 2015 song \u201cTrap Queen\u201d was attributed to her on the first page of the yearbook, according to Action News Jax<\/a>.<\/p>\n The yearbook page, per a photo obtained by local news outlet St. Johns Citizen<\/a>, included a picture of the school with the words, \u201cEverybody hating, we just call them fans though! -Mrs. O\u2019Connell.\u201d<\/p>\n However, O\u2019Connell claims she did not write or approve the quote.<\/p>\n \u201cI approved the yearbook twice on April 9, and so did my assistant principal, [Samantha Sawruk], and that quote in that area was not even in the book,\u201d she told Action News Jax.<\/p>\n The principal also said she isn\u2019t typically called \u201cMrs. O\u2019Connell,\u201d as she goes by \u201cMiss O.\u201d<\/p>\n O’Connell received a letter from the St. Johns County School District stating that she would be placed on paid administrative leave beginning May 20 after an allegation of \u201cinappropriate conduct,” per Action News Jax.<\/p>\n A second letter said that “this action is being taken as we move towards a non-reappointment for the 2026-2027 school year.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell was also informed that she is not allowed on the property of the school district.<\/p>\n The principal claimed she wasn’t aware of the quote until someone sent her screenshots from Facebook.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were certain parents that went straight to the district, or straight to the news, or straight to Facebook. None of them even called me. I received zero phone calls, or emails, or any questions about the yearbook,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cAll I needed was the time or the opportunity to have fixed an error that was made, and it wasn\u2019t made by me.\u201d<\/p>\n Action News Jax obtained an email from Sawruk that claimed the quote was not in the yearbook when it was proofread the night before submission.<\/p>\n \u201cHad the quote been there at the time of admin editing; it would have been corrected,\u201d Sawruk wrote in the email.<\/p>\n Trout Creek Academy. Yearbook teacher Jodi Stobe has made conflicting claims about whether O\u2019Connell was aware of the quote, per Action News Jax. Stobe claimed in an email that the quote was not in the yearbook when O’Connell proofread it. But the teacher also told Gene Bennett, the ESE coordinator of special programs in St. Johns County, that O’Connell saw the quote in the yearbook before they were handed out.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Ms. O\u2019Connell said, \u2018Oh, my quote made it,\u2019 \u201c the yearbook teacher alleged to Bennett.<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell believes the quote could\u2019ve been placed by a student after the copy was approved.<\/p>\n The principal\u2019s attorney Jack Webb called the incident \u201ca bunch of garbage\u201d in a statement to Jax Action News.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s getting thrown under the bus for something she was not responsible for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell said she has been harassed over the controversy and was sent a threat that she reported to the local sheriff.<\/p>\n \u201cI have an exemplary record. My school scores are amazing. I have 92% teacher retention. I have five straight years of being highly effective in St. Johns County schools,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to throw away someone\u2019s career or to hurt a family like this.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell told Jax Action News that she wants to continue working as a principal but not at Trout Creek Academy.<\/p>\n![\"Trout](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2754a67b0a300d75abf17cfc6042903b.jpeg\"\/)
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