Florida Principal Placed on Administrative Leave After a Fetty Wap Rap Lyric Was Attributed to Her in the Yearbook

Some students’ parents said the quote may have been targeting families who had raised concerns about the school

NEED TO KNOW

• Katie O’Connell, the principal of Trout Creek Academy in Florida, was placed on administrative leave after a lyric from rapper Fetty Wap’s 2015 song “Trap Queen” was attributed to her on the first page of the school’s yearbook
• The yearbook page read, “Everybody hating, we just call them fans though! – Mrs. O’Connell.” 
• Some students’ parents said the quote may have been targeting families who had raised concerns about the school

A principal in Florida was placed on administrative leave after a Fetty Wap lyric was attributed to her in the school’s yearbook. 

Katie O’Connell, the principal of Trout Creek Academy in St. Johns County, was placed on administrative leave after a lyric from the rapper’s 2015 song “Trap Queen” was attributed to her on the first page of the yearbook, according to Action News Jax. 

The yearbook page, per a photo obtained by local news outlet St. Johns Citizen, included a picture of the school with the words, “Everybody hating, we just call them fans though! -Mrs. O’Connell.” 

However, O’Connell claims she did not write or approve the quote. 

“I 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,” she told Action News Jax.

The principal also said she isn’t typically called “Mrs. O’Connell,” as she goes by “Miss O.”

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 “inappropriate conduct," per Action News Jax.

A second letter said that "this action is being taken as we move towards a non-reappointment for the 2026-2027 school year.” 

O’Connell was also informed that she is not allowed on the property of the school district. 

The principal claimed she wasn't aware of the quote until someone sent her screenshots from Facebook.

“There 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,” she said. “All I needed was the time or the opportunity to have fixed an error that was made, and it wasn’t made by me.”

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. 

“Had the quote been there at the time of admin editing; it would have been corrected,” Sawruk wrote in the email. 

Yearbook teacher Jodi Stobe has made conflicting claims about whether O’Connell 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. 

“Yes. Ms. O’Connell said, ‘Oh, my quote made it,’ “ the yearbook teacher alleged to Bennett.

O’Connell believes the quote could’ve been placed by a student after the copy was approved. 

The principal’s attorney Jack Webb called the incident “a bunch of garbage” in a statement to Jax Action News. 

“She’s getting thrown under the bus for something she was not responsible for,” he said.

O’Connell said she has been harassed over the controversy and was sent a threat that she reported to the local sheriff. 

“I 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,” she said. “There’s no reason to throw away someone’s career or to hurt a family like this.”

O’Connell told Jax Action News that she wants to continue working as a principal but not at Trout Creek Academy.

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St. Johns Citizen reported that some students’ parents said the quote may have been targeting families who had raised concerns about the school. 

Others are concerned that the incident may negatively affect students. 

“If you start getting rid of the best of the best, who are we going to have to teach our children to be the best that they can be,” parent Chris Farlow told St. Johns Citizen. 

PEOPLE reached out to Trout Creek Academy, Trout Creek Academy’s Parent Teacher Organization and the St. Johns County School District for additional information on Sunday, May 31, but did not receive immediate responses.

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