The former president of the College of the Florida Keys is contesting his July 20 termination, and has requested an administrative hearing so a judge can review the circumstances of his firing and the actions the school’s board of trustees took to do so.
Jonathan “Dr. G” Gueverra served as president of CFK from 2012 until July 20, when the board, newly appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, voted to terminate his contract at a hastily called special meeting whose agenda did not mention potential termination or discussion thereof.
In a written notice of termination, dated July 24, attorney Brande Smith, representing the college board, listed the grounds for termination as: lack of confidence by the board, as reflected in the new trustees’ evaluations of Gueverra; insubordination stemming from tense discussions of his contract, which had been renewed early by the prior board; misconduct in office, breach of contract for not securing state funding, which was included in the state budget, but ultimately vetoed by the governor; and incompetence over the alleged failure to remove Key deer from a college-managed Big Pine property despite U.S. Fish & Wildlife experts finding the deer were healthy with adequate resources. Gueverra denies all allegations.
“The board’s asserted lack of confidence was not real, honest, or genuinely held, but was feigned or supplied as a pretextual reason for his termination,” Gueverra’s attorney Wayne Larue Smith wrote in his Aug. 17 petition for a hearing with an administrative law judge.
The judge would be asked to consider, according to the petition, whether “the board chair (Alexandria Suarez) predetermined the outcome, attempted to direct implementation of Dr. Gueverra’s termination and disable his systems access before the purported board action on July 20, 2026, called the special meeting only after college staff objected, or otherwise acted outside her individual authority,” the petition states.
“The board’s process was materially defective,” it continues. “Notice of the Monday evening special meeting was posted at approximately 4:55 p.m. on the immediately preceding Friday, after the board chair had already stated that Dr. Gueverra was being terminated and attempted to have his systems access disabled. The notice and agenda were not published at least seven days before the meeting, as required … and did not provide adequate notice or fair warning that the Board would consider terminating Dr. Gueverra.”
The petition says Gueverra “disputes the asserted grounds, the facts and inferences on which they rest, … the procedures used to notice and conduct the special meeting, the fairness and impartiality of the decisional process, and the validity of the resulting termination.”
Smith requests that a final order be issued, “determining that the … grounds for termination for cause were not proven, and withdrawing or setting aside the proposed termination.” It further asks that an administrative law judge, “restore Dr. Gueverra to the position, salary, benefits, and contractual status he would have occupied absent the challenged action.”
Smith closes the administrative petition by emphasizing that regardless of an administrative hearing outcome, Gueverra “expressly reserves all claims and remedies available in circuit court or any other forum, including claims to invalidate action taken in violation of the Sunshine Law,….”
Two weeks after the college board received Gueverra’s petition for a hearing, a mediation session was scheduled for Oct. 7. Both parties have jointly asked the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) to pause the case for 60 days, until Nov. 3, while mediation is attempted. If unsuccessful, then an evidentiary hearing will be scheduled, states an order from administrative law judge Robert S. Cohen in Tallahassee, who granted the two-month pause.
Gueverra and board trustees declined to discuss the matter, given the pending legal matters.
