A book review committee jointly made up of Flagler Palm Coast High and Matanzas High School representatives on Tuesday voted unanimously to keep “The Truth About Alice” in circulation at both schools’ libraries. The book was challenged on claims that it contained “pornography.” It is the fourth book to survive a challenge, out of 22 challenges, with 10 already removed and others awaiting review.
Flagler County School Board
Custodial Services’ Renee Berry and Matanzas Math Teacher Lee Winfree Win District’s Top Honors
Renee Berry, the Custodial Services department secretary, was named the Flagler County School District Employee of the Year, and Lee Winfree, a math teacher at Matanzas High School, was named the District Teacher of the Year at the annual celebration at Flagler Auditorium Wednesday evening.
Flagler School District Will Ask Its Employees: Do You Want to Be Armed on Campus?
The Flagler County school district will survey its 1,600 employees to gauge whether there’s interest among them to be armed in the district’s nine campuses. The survey will not ask whether employees support or oppose such a program–only whether the individual taking the survey is himself or herself interested in being armed on campus, and providing security in case of an emergency.
Jacob Oliva Is Headed to Arkansas to be Gov. Huckabee’s Education Secretary
Jacob Oliva, a senior chancellor at the Florida Department of Education and a former Flagler County superintendent who maintains family ties locally, will be the next Arkansas secretary of education in incoming Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s administration.
It’s Groundhog Day for Deficit-Ridden Belle Terre Swim and Racquet as School Board Again Dithers Over Fate
The Flagler County School Board for the latest of innumerable times could not decide what to do with the money-losing Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, now projected to run a $169,000 deficit, other than ask for yet more information. But the district’s administration is making clear that it is getting tired of carrying the club with subsidies better spent elsewhere.
Should There Be Armed Civilians in Schools? Flagler District Will Survey Employees and Residents
With numerous questions still unanswered–and some unanswerable questions–the Flagler County School Board is moving forward with gauging interest from school employees and residents in arming civilians in schools as a presumed addition to the security provided by the Sheriff’s Office’s school resource deputies.
School District Will Develop Policy on Stocking Narcan to Counter Overdoses, With Broad Availability
The Flagler County School Board directed its administration to develop a policy and procedures that will make Narcan, the agent that neutralizes drug overdoses, broadly available in schools, enabling more than just school nurses to administer it if and when necessary. The district has not experienced a drug overdose among students or staff on campus in recent memory.
Jacob Oliva Warns Districts That Their LGBTQ Support Policies Don’t Align With Parental ‘Rights’
Jacob Oliva, senior chancellor for the education department–and a former superintendent in Flagler schools–wrote letters to school superintendents in 10 districts, warning them that LGBTQ support policies may run afoul of current law and state board rules. The state board will discuss the policies during a meeting Wednesday.
Don’t Say Fraud? Joe Harding Has Resigned, But Effects of His ‘Parental Rights’ Law Live On
The Florida House of Representatives is down a member following the resignation of former Rep. Joe Harding following his federal indictment on fraud charges. Harding sponsored the “Parental Rights in Education” or “Don’t Say Gay” bill from the 2022 session that became law in July.
State Panel Developing Guidelines on Book Bans for School Librarians May Be at an Impasse
A new law that intensifies scrutiny of school library books requires school boards to adopt procedures that provide for the “regular removal or discontinuance” of books from media centers based on factors such as alignment with state academic standards. The panel designated to develop the training playbook for librarians is mired in disagreement, with a Jan. 1 deadline looming.