Wheatley school worker who exposed deplorable conditions to be reassigned

APOPKA, Fla. — A Wheatley Elementary School employee who first told Channel 9 about the deplorable conditions inside the school is talking again.

Myla Hall is currently on medical leave, but when she goes back to work next semester, she'll be in a classroom instead of an office.

"To me, it's just a slap in the face," Hall said.

Hall is the dean at Wheatley Elementary, and she helped Channel 9 expose hazardous conditions inside the 60-year-old school.

"I'm hurt, because when I contacted you guys, it was all about the students at Wheatley Elementary. It had nothing to do with me. I had nothing to gain," she said.

Hall helped expose several problems inside the school, including air quality issues that eventually prompted the district to schedule the school to be torn down this summer.

But next year, as a new school is being built, Hall said she will not be serving as dean. She said she was informed she's being moved back to a teaching position because she doesn't have an educational leadership certificate.

Channel 9 found the credentials Hall was told she needed are not required for deans district-wide, but district officials said they couldn't answer questions about Hall's position.

"Clearly, I feel that they're coming after me as a whistle-blower," said Hall.

Now, Hall worries she could lose her position with Orange County Schools altogether after 15 years as an employee.

"I do not regret contacting the station at all. What was going on at the school needed to be exposed," she said.

School district officials would not comment on the personnel issue other than to say that there is a process for union employees if they feel they've been retaliated against.

WFTV