School Board members on Wednesday received invitations to appear before the grand jury.

Stacie Smith, the Okaloosa County School District’s assistant superintendent of human resources, has tendered her resignation.

The decision to leave the School District follows her arrest Monday on three felony charges of failing to report child abuse.

School Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson notified School Board members and other officials of Smith’s decision in an email sent out at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The email did not say when or why Smith had resigned, and ended with  “just FYI to you,” according to board members Lamar White and Rodney Walker.

Smith did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Smith had been assistant superintendent of human resources since 2014. She reported directly to Jackson and in some cases, according to Jackson, had the authority to act unilaterally to close investigations of allegations made against teachers.

That was what happened with a 2016 investigation into charges that Kenwood Elementary pre-K teacher Marlynn Stillions was harming students, according to Jackson.

“Stacie Smith called me in 2016 to discuss that she was closing the report,” Jackson told the Northwest Florida Daily News last September. Jackson said then she had not seen the investigation report until Aug. 6, 2017.

READERS GUIDE: Previous Daily News coverage of the OCSD >>

The investigative report on Stillions played a critical role in events leading to Smith’s arrest.

School District investigator Arden Farley looked into allegations that Stillions was physically abusing a student, and on June 17, 2016, turned in a report confirming those allegations.

Smith issued a memo Aug. 1, 2016, that stated Farley had failed to follow union guidelines in conducting his investigation and declared the Stillions case closed. The report was filed away and no suggested sanctions were implemented.

In May 2017, Eddie Perillo, the father of the victim of the alleged abuse, obtained a copy of Farley’s report and took it to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. An investigation was conducted and Stillions was arrested Sept. 13 and charged with child abuse.

Farley and former Kenwood principal Angelyn Vaughan also were arrested and charged with failing to report child abuse.

Now, with the State Attorney’s Office investigating how the School District conducts business and a grand jury set to be convened to hear findings, School Board members on Wednesday received invitations to appear before the grand jury.

Smith was paid significantly less than her fellow assistant superintendents. Smith’s salary of $94,378 paled in comparison to the $120,697 salary of Marcus Chambers, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, and the $112,112 made by Nick Kootsouradis, the assistant superintendent of school operations.

In fact, despite her title and leverage, Smith made less in 2018 than at least 31 people in the School District, including two assistant principals, school records show.

Smith’s resignation will prevent the School Board from having to take action against her. Following her arrest, Jackson had suspended Smith with pay.

Jackson said Tuesday she was prepared to ask board members at their Feb. 12 meeting to suspend Smith without pay until the charges against her were adjudicated.

Chambers has been tasked with taking over Smith’s human resources responsibilities.

READERS GUIDE: Previous Daily News coverage of the OCSD >>