The five Flagler County School Board members’ combined evaluation scores for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt average 3.69 points out of a possible 5, rating her “Acceptable/Satisfactory” as the board heads into Tuesday’s special meeting to decide whether to renew her contract, and if so, how.
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‘Promises Made and Kept’: ESE Parent Advisory Council Voices Unanimous Support for Superintendent
The parent-members of Flagler Schools’ ESE Parent Advisory Council (or EPAC) voted unanimously in support of the renewal or extension of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract, issuing a letter outlining the superintendent’s achievements and cautioning against yet more instability.
I Served on Flagler’s School District Book Review Committee, Only to Be Silenced
One of 14 members appointed by the Flagler school administration to a district-level committee to review the challenge to Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls” describes the experience of being part of a 14-0 decision to retain the book, only to be overruled by the superintendent, who banned the book.
Head-On Crash at Flagler Beach Pier Narrowly Misses Mayor, Her Child, Former Mayor and Commissioner
A speeding car was in a head-on crash in front of the Flagler Beach pier this morning, just as a beach clean-up involving children and other volunteers was starting. The collision took place within a few feet of the city’s mayor, her child, a former mayor, a city commissioner and the city’s parks and recreation director.
Peacock Sent Sally Hunt Script on Firing Superintendent Even as She Claimed ‘Due Diligence’
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt and Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock were orchestrating the firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt as far back as February 22, a text Peacock sent Hunt two hours before a school board meeting shows. All along, Hunt claimed she was doing her “due diligence,” and that she had not made up her mind.
In a First at Flagler School Board, a Parent Pushing Book Bans Justifies Hitler’s Book-Burning
A parent falsely claimed Hitler’s book burnings only targeted sexually deviant books, as if to suggest the same should be done in Flagler. She was not corrected, though school board members on occasion have devoted parts of their comments to correct the record, especially when the board’s chamber is abused to peddle egregious, insulting or outright false statements.
School Committee Votes 6-0 to Keep Looking For Alaska as Superintendent Bans Nowhere Girls
John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” skated this afternoon to a Matanzas High School review committee’s 6-0 vote for retention, rebuffing a challenge to the book. It was the second book decision in a day in the Flagler district, the third in a week, counting Tuesday’s vote by the school board to retain Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.”
Trump Is Indicted
A New York criminal grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump. A former president has never been indicted before. Members of Congress quickly began to react, along partisan lines.
Sheriff Launches Voluntary Surveillance Camera Registry Tapping Private Homes, Businesses and Agencies
The camera registry is an online portal for citizens to register their security cameras in order to help solve crimes in the community. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is hoping that citizens will register their cameras and help create a community-wide public safety ecosystem.
Skirting Ban, FPC Committee Votes to ‘Weed’ Tilt, With Same Result: the Book Is Removed
A seven-member committee reviewing a challenge of Ellen Hopkins’s “Tilt” unanimously voted this morning to remove the book from circulation at the Flagler Palm Coast High School library, but not on challenged grounds. The committee found the book did not meet criteria to be banned, but met criteria to be “weeded,” as outdated.