SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — The Sarasota County School Board has approved a $400,000 settlement with an employee who accused former Superintendent Todd Bowden of sexual harassment and retaliation.
Lyna Jimenez-Ruiz initially sued the school board in 2018 for damages in excess of $15,000 where she outlined her allegations against Bowden over the years.
Court documents state the harassment "immediately" began after Jimenez-Ruiz was promoted to assistant director at Suncoast Technical College under the supervision of Bowden.
It's there that she claims Bowden made inappropriate comments and innuendo surrounding her personal life and marital status in both private and public settings.
Then, in 2015, her lawsuit alleges Bowden made "inappropriate and unwelcomed sexual advances" toward her during an educational conference, which she "rebuked."
In the time following, Jimenez-Ruiz says she was retaliated against through a negative performance evaluation, removal from her program and a demotion due to her denying his advances.
A district investigation determined Ruiz's harassment allegation was unfounded and dismissed her case, but Ruiz says the retaliation continued.
The Sarasota County School Board approved the settlement agreement with Jimenez-Ruiz during a Sept. 21, 2021 meeting, as recommended. The lawsuit was officially dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Aug. 3 given a settlement being reached, documents show.
During his time, Bowden was no stranger to the hot seat. He faced allegations before he worked for Sarasota County Schools.
According to his personnel record on file at Hillsborough County Schools, a female teacher filed a harassment complaint against Bowden in 2004, when he was an assistant principal.
Three years later, the district had leadership concerns about Bowden, after 11 staff members complained.
Bowden resigned from Hillsborough schools in 2007 and took a job with Sarasota. He took over as superintendent in 2017.
10 Tampa Bay has reached out to the school district for a statement. Efforts to find current contact information for Bowden were unsuccessful. This story will be updated if we get a comment.
