‘At least now there’s closure,’ says St. Anne’s board president

St. Anne’s, which has 305 students in preschool through eighth grade, fired Smith immediately after his arrest. This week, board president Harry Baetjer thanked police and prosecutors for winning a conviction and said the school community is focused on moving forward.

“It’s a relief obviously for the final steps to have happened,’’ said Baetjer, who would not comment on the merits of the state’s deal with Smith.

“At least now there’s closure, so we can now totally put the situation behind us and, as we have been since practically the moment Justin was arrested, to try to concentrate on the future.”

Baetjer said after Smith’s arrest that St. Anne’s officials found no red flags while vetting him for hire.

But days later, WHYY News learned that Smith had alarmed some parents while running another private Christian school in Louisiana.

While at the prestigious Southfield School from 2019 to 2021, which, like St. Anne’s, educates preschoolers through eighth graders, Smith sent families an email, obtained by WHYY News, that included a porn actor’s name and the word “threesome.” He also had an affair with a female staff member amid accusations of lurid behavior inside the school, parents said.

Smith later held leadership roles at two Christian schools in Florida.

Baetjer’s update in February said officials at the Louisiana school not only didn’t inform St. Anne’s about any problems with Smith, but that two references he provided from Southfield, as well as five others from Florida educational circles, gave “glowing accolades” about him.
Smith headed St. Anne’s Episcopal School from July 2024 until his Jan. 31 arrest. (Google Maps)

Southfield “provided service letters to two state agencies and a positive letter of reference to us. The employer expressed no concerns,’’ Baetjer wrote, adding that a St. Anne’s trustee “confirmed the absence of concerns” with two Southfield employees.

In the aftermath of the arrest and now the conviction, Novak said she still faults St. Anne’s for hiring Smith. She’s also taken her son and daughter, who is in pre-school, out of the school where tuition would have totaled nearly $40,000 this year for her two children.

“I’m appalled at the school for putting him in charge,” Novak said. “Now, hearing from you, that he basically got a slap on the wrist, only solidifies my decision to leave St. Anne’s.”

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.