The Flagler County School Board is not enthusiastic about a potential partnership with Palm Coast for a shared YMCA pool, instead showing interest in the district building its own Olympic-size facility despite past management and financial failures at its own Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club. This discussion coincided with an unsolicited $1.9 million offer from Ryan Companies for surplus district land that could provide revenue for a district stake at the YMCA.
Flagler County School Board
Palm Coast City Hall and 3 Schools Lost Internet and Phone Service Thursday and Friday in Accidental Cable Cut
A subcontractor accidentally severed a Fibernet line along U.S. 1 on Thursday, caused significant internet and phone outages for Palm Coast City Hall, Matanzas High School, Belle Terre Elementary and Indian Trails Middle School. Crews worked overnight to repair the damage and restore services by Saturday morning. Teachers transitioned to offline instruction to avoid classroom disruptions. The city manager intends to seek full financial reimbursement for the repair project costs.
Limiting Student School Board Members To Cheerleading Scripts Undermines Role’s Original Intent
Flagler County Schools established student board members in 2002 to provide authentic youth perspectives on policy. The students once influenced graduation requirements and infrastructure improvements. Recent trends relegated them to ceremonial duties and prepared scripts. Board members Lauren Ramirez and Janie Ruddy want to restore meaningful participation, Will Furry and Christy Chong don’t. A new policy defining the roles would be pointless if it does not empower students to lead effectively as intended.
Deputy City Manager Lauren Johnston Leaves Palm Coast For Top Operations Role At Flagler Schools
Palm Coast Deputy City Manager Lauren Johnston is moving to the Flagler County School District as the new chief of operations in place of Dave Freeman. Superintendent LaShakia Moore announced the appointment this morning alongside new Human Resources Director Joshua Walker. Johnston accepted a significant pay cut to improve her work-life balance. City Manager Michael McGlothlin plans to name an interim replacement within a week.
Flagler School Board Tensions Flare Again as Members Reject Lauren Ramirez’s Call For Procedural Retreat
Flagler County School Board members rejected a request from Lauren Ramirez for a retreat to discuss board procedures and parliamentary conduct. The discussion highlighted ongoing friction between members and exacerbated by a vacant fifth seat Governor Ron DeSantis has failed to fill though he’s known it would require an appointment for a year. Members argued a retreat should wait until a full board is seated following the upcoming August primary or November election.
Flagler Schools Update Mandatory ECG Testing Policy for Student Athletes, This Time Without Controversy
Flagler County is updating its mandatory electrocardiogram testing policy for student athletes to align with new state legislation that mirrors the district’s pioneering rules. The school board on Tuesday voted to advance changes requiring students in athletics and marching bands to complete screenings every two years. The district’s ongoing partnership with AdventHealth provides free clinics, which recently saved a local basketball player from cardiac emergencies.
Flagler School Board Members Clash Over Allowing Student Representatives to Participate in Discussions
The Flagler County School Board is divided over a proposed policy defining the official roles of its student representatives. While two members advocate for allowing students to actively participate in board discussions without voting power, two others argue student input should be strictly limited to prevent political “weaponization” and procedural issues. The district administration is revising the draft to reach an acceptable compromise.
Proposal to Honor Jim Guines With Flagler School Building Name Paused Over Lease Doubts
The Flagler County School Board is delaying a proposal to rename its leased Engagement Center after the late Jim Guines, a former board member and lifelong educator. Board members expressed concerns about dedicating a potentially temporary facility to Guines, as the district’s lease expires in September. The board will wait for more clarity on the building’s future before proceeding with any permanent facility naming plans.
Former School Board Member Trevor Tucker Enters Race Against Christy Chong in Rematch
Former Flagler County School Board member Trevor Tucker has filed to run for his old District 4 seat, challenging incumbent Christy Chong. Citing a lack of board cohesion and a desire for rational governance, Tucker admits he underestimated the need to campaign in 2022. He plans a more robust effort this election cycle to address district dysfunction.
Michelle Moore and Calvin Grant Named Flagler Schools’ Teacher and Employee of the Year
Michelle Moore of Belle Terre Elementary School was named the 2025-2026 District Teacher of the Year. Calvin Grant of Flagler Palm Coast High School was named the 2025-2026 District Employee of the Year. Moore and Grant will represent Flagler Schools in the Florida Department of Education’s state-level competitions later this year.
Florida House Advances Plan to Phase Out Non-School Property Taxes Despite Anguish Over Local Services
Florida House committees advanced two major property-tax proposals on Thursday, including a constitutional amendment to phase out non-school homestead taxes over ten years. While Republicans argue the move prevents local governments from treating residents like an “ATM,” Democrats and local officials warn of decimated public services. Meanwhile, the Senate has yet to release a companion plan, leaving the final form of a potential November ballot initiative in a holding pattern as leaders negotiate.
Flagler Student Musicians Shine at All-State; All-County Concert Set for Jan. 31
Four Flagler County students represented the district at the Florida All-State Band performances in Tampa following a rigorous audition process. Matanzas Director Ryan Schulz was also recognized for coordinating the High School Honors Band. The community can see local talent next at the All-County Band Concert, Saturday, Jan. 31, at 11:30 a.m. in the Matanzas High School Pirate Theater.
Against 2 Colleagues’ Claims of Inexperience, Lauren Ramirez Achieves Elite FSBA Certified Status
Flagler County School Board member Lauren Ramirez has earned the Florida School Boards Association’s Certified Board Member distinction, a credential held by only 27 percent of members statewide. This achievement comes months after fellow board members Will Furry and Christy Chong blocked her vice-chairmanship, citing a lack of experience. Despite managing a business and four children, Ramirez completed 96 hours of specialized training. She is currently the only member of the Flagler board to hold this professional certification.
Jill Woolbright, Controversial Former School Board Member and Culture Warrior, Files to Run Again
Former Flagler County School Board member Jill Woolbright, who claimed she was in “satanic warfare” against the district, has filed to run for the District 1 seat she’d held for two years. She faces newcomer Cathy Lynn Moon, a retired postal executive focused on fiscal efficiency and public school advocacy. The district is grappling with stagnant enrollment and the rising impact of state private-school vouchers, an issue both candidates address.
After Anemic Congressional Campaign, Furry Pivots Back to School Board Re-Election from His Coveted Vice Chairmanship
Flagler County School Board member Will Furry has quit his bid to challenge U.S. Rep. Randy Fine in the GOP congressional primary to run for re-election to the School Board. Furry attributed his withdrawal to uncertainty over potential redistricting, though his campaign struggled to raise funds against opponents like Fine and Charles Gambaro. His return follows a contentious November episode where he and Chair Christy Chong deadlocked the board for nine hours to block a colleague’s appointment as vice chair.
Flagler District Wants Exemption to Later School Start Times Despite Sleep Science on Healthier Adolescents
The Flagler County school district is preparing to exempt itself from a Florida law requiring later start times for middle and high schools by 2026. Citing logistical challenges, transportation costs, and parental preference for current schedules, district officials argue against the change despite scientific evidence supporting more sleep for adolescents. A recent district survey indicates that while parents acknowledge the health benefits of later starts, many fear disruptions to work schedules and extracurricular activities.
The Phoenix Declaration’s Serenade of Dog Whistles
The Heritage Foundation’s “Phoenix” doctrine, recently adopted by Florida, is a Christian nationalist manifesto designed to eradicate educational dissent. It prioritizes “parental omnipotence” over children’s intellectual freedom. By diverting public funds to private vouchers and sanitizing history, the doctrine cements a decades-long conservative war against public education and enforces a “pinched, angry” monoculture that suppresses critical thinking in favor of dogmatic, exclusionary patriotism.
Audit of State Funding Of School Vouchers Reveals ‘Myriad of Accountability Problems’
The state’s school voucher program has exhibited “a myriad of accountability problems” and caused a funding shortfall for public schools, a state audit released this week shows. The audit, encompassing the 2024-2025 school year, was presented this week to lawmakers, who are spending the weeks leading up to the legislative session learning the woes of […]
Furry and Chong Won Their Sleazy Battle. Ramirez and Ruddy Won the School Board.
Will Furry and Christy Chong are chair and vice chair of the School Board in title only. In a grab for Furry’s title they fought an ugly, vulgar nine-hour battle that mirrored their character. They won the battle. They lost the School Board, and whatever respect they imagined they still bore in this community. The future, like the true leadership of this board, belongs to Ramirez and Ruddy.
After 9 Hours, 103 Votes and Immeasurable Entitlement, Will Furry Grasps Vice Chair for School Board
In possibly the most embarrassing and cringeworthy meetings of a board that has not lacked for contemptible meetings over the last few years, the Flagler County School Board, after nine hours and 103 votes, elected Will Furry its vice chair, after Furry had been chair for two years, denying the position to Lauren Ramirez. A divided board the previous day–in the same meeting–had elected Christy Chong chair. For most of Tuesday night and early this morning, the board deadlocked in 2-2 votes over the vice chair nomination.
15-Year-Old FPC Student Charged as Adult Sentenced to 18 to 36 Months in Lock-Up Over Gun Incidents
After carrying a 9 mm handgun with him all day at Flagler Palm Coast High School last Sept. 4, Sean Junior Goska, 15, who was on probation for a series of felonies but nevertheless attending school, went to McDonald’s with a few friends and pulled the gun on one of them. On Friday, in a plea, he was sentenced to 18 o 38 months in a juvenile prison followed by two years of house arrest and three years on probation.
Contrition, Grimness and Encouragement from Flagler County’s Lawmakers Ahead of Another Messy, Miserly Session
Florida Sen. Tom Leek spoke contritely, then grimly, then encouragingly at Friday’s annual Flagler County legislative delegation meeting, ahead of the legislative session in January. The contrition was for the misbehavior of the legislature in the last session, the grimness was about another year of tight budgets, and therefore few legislative appropriations for local governments, and the encouragement was for local officials to make their pitches anyway, as long as they matched that with commitment of their own.
Derek Barrs Resigns School Board Seat to Be Senior Advisor to Transportation Secretary Pending Confirmation
Flagler County School Board member Derek Barrs will log his last evening board meeting on Sept. 23 and resign his seat effective Sept. 30 as he prepares to assume the leadership of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He will move to the nation’s capital at the end of the month and start working as a senior advisor to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Once confirmed, he’ll officially move over to the motor carrier side.
Flagler County School Board’s Will Furry Says God Is Calling Him to Run for Congress Against Randy Fine
Will Furry, a Realtor in his first term on the Flagler County School Board, said he is running for the congressional seat held by Randy Fine. Furry will continue serving on the School Board until the end of his term in November. He cannot run for both seats. His fate will be decided in the Aug. 18, 2026 primary, when he would be one of a slew of Republicans challenging Fine.
Committee’s 15-13 Vote Sends School Board’s Derek Barrs Nomination for Transportation Post to Full Senate
Flagler County School Board member Derek Barrs is a step closer to resigning the seat and leaving Flagler County to become the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Wednesday voted 15-13, strictly along party lines, to send the nomination to the full Senate, where Barrs is expected to be confirmed.
On Flagler County School Board, Competing Views Underscore District Tensions Behind Vouchers and ‘Choice’
At the end of a 15-minute hearing on Tuesday to approve Flagler County schools’ tentative property tax and budget for the coming fiscal year–a budget that includes the siphoning of $17 million to subsidize private school “vouchers” for almost 2,000 students, with the district’s dollars–School Board member Janie Ruddy delivered a brief speech decrying the erosion of public dollars for public schools, and addressing its consequences. Will Furry followed with a rejoinder, illustrating district tensions at the heart of the voucher and “choice” program. Both statements follow in full.
Janie Ruddy Rips Vouchers, Will Furry Defends Them as School Board Sees Erosion of Nearly 2,000 Students to Hand-Out
The Flagler County School Board in a 15-minute meeting this evening approved the tentative school property tax for the next fiscal year, a small decline from last year that continues a 20-year trend of cutting the school tax rate every year but in the three years of the Great Recession. Board member Janie Ruddy pointedly noted the discordance between falling tax rates and local needs, and between the expansion of vouchers–public funding for private education–at the public schools’ expense. Will Furry, who chairs the board, countered with a defense of vouchers.
Administration Releasing Billions in Federal Education Funding
To Flagler County Schools’ relief, the Trump administration said Friday it’ll soon release billions in Education Department funding that has been frozen for weeks, delaying disbursements to K-12 schools throughout the country. The funding — which goes toward migrant education, English-language learning and other programs — was supposed to go out before July 1, but the administration informed schools just one day before that it was instead holding onto $6.8 billion while staff conducted a review. Members of both parties in Congress objected to the move.
School Board’s Lauren Ramirez Prevails in Conflict-of-Interest Dispute at Ethics Commission, With Help from a Familiar Face
Flagler County School Board member Lauren Ramirez’s challenge of proposed restrictions on her private business not only prevailed today before the Florida Ethics Commission, which unanimously took her side, but spurred a request by the commission that the Florida Legislature rewrite the relevant portions of law to prevent similar conflict-of-interest restrictions in the future. Ramirez all but won her challenge behind arguments to the Ethics Commission by her attorney, Theresa Pontieri, the Palm Coast City Council vice mayor.
Stop the Grift: Florida’s School Vouchers Are Scamming Taxpayers and Sabotaging Democracy
Our public schools are America’s great equalizer, the engine room of our democracy, where kids of different incomes, races, abilities, and beliefs learn side by side. That’s not “just education.” That’s democracy in motion, argues Colleen Conklin, the former School Board member. And that’s precisely why the current voucher experiment—built on selective enrollment, hidden finances, and zero public oversight—is the opposite: it fractures the common schoolhouse, privatizes accountability, and poses a real threat to the democratic fabric that public education holds together.
School Board Fails Math as It Adds Deputy Despite Increased Costs in Lean Times and No Increased Safety
Just hours after the Flagler County School Board bemoaned sharply leaner times as enrollment drops, state dollars drop with it and federal dollars are being withheld, the board voted to add one more school resource deputy to its ranks even though the deputy will not improve school safety and the cost-benefit data is not in favor of adding one.
Flagler School Board Wrestles with Smoke and Mirrors Budget as $17 Million in Vouchers and Trump Cuts Hit Home
If Flagler County School Board members aren’t panicking over next year’s budget, they’re either putting on a good act or not fully grasping the breadth of the rapidly changing financial landscape and disappearing dollars that district staff outlined for them at a meeting Tuesday. Large parts of the budget are cloaked in smoke and mirrors–not because district staff is playing with the numbers, but because the federal and state governments are requiring the district to bank on dollars it will never see, or dollars that may never materialize, even though the dollars have to be included in the budget.
Flagler School Board Isn’t Dancing About YMCA’s Request for $3 Million for Palm Coast Y in Town Center
Volusia Flagler YMCA officials made their pitch to the Flagler County School Board for a $3 million contribution to help pay for the $16 million Y planned for Palm Coast’s Town Center. The same officials made the same request of Palm Coast government in April. Palm Coast is almost in. The School Board was much cooler. It shut down the possibility that any cash would be made available unless the district were to sell property–not just because the district’s reserves of around $6 million are limited, but because of restrictions on how the district may spend the money it has.
School Board’s Derek Barrs Glides Through Senate Committee Hearing’s Grandstanding Members Unscathed
Navigating a few ideologically choppy waters as senators dueled over deregulation and political interference, Flagler County School Board member Derek Barrs on Wednesday cleared the main hurdle to his presidential nomination to lead the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as he appeared for a nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Transportation Committee.
Flagler School Board’s Lauren Ramirez Challenges Ethics Commission’s Pending Restrictions on Her Private Business
Flagler County School Board member Lauren Ramirez is contesting a proposed finding by the Florida Ethics Commission that would severely restrict local public school students and employees from her business. Prohibiting local students from using her company’s services, she argued, would “have broad, unintended implications for public officials who own businesses unrelated to their elected duties and who operate in good faith under the assumption that members of the public, including students or parents, can choose where to spend their time and money.”
Flagler School Board May Soon Have an Open Seat Again as Derek Barrs Heads for Senate Confirmation Hearing
Derek Barrs’s days as a Flagler County School Board member may be numbered. Barrs’s confirmation hearing to be Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 16 before the Senate Transportation Committee. If he is confirmed, which appears likely, Barrs’s departure will require another gubernatorial appointment to the school board seat, with a year and four months left in that term before the 2026 election.
Education Foundation’s Take Stock in Children Mentee Alaria Krivoshey Joins Chiumento Law as Summer Intern
Chiumento Law announced today that Alaria Krivoshey, a Take Stock in Children mentee, has joined the firm as a summer intern. Alaria is mentored by Diane Vidal, a partner at Chiumento Law and the head of our Probate and Estate Planning department.
District Skeptical of Adding “Floater” to School Deputies’ Ranks and Increasing Contract with Sheriff 20%
The Flagler County School Board has few quibbles with a proposed 10 percent increase in its contract with the Sheriff’s Office for the 12 School Resource Deputies it pays for. The coming year’s budget is $1.52 million, compared to $1.377 million. The figures don’t include overtime costs. The board is more skeptical about a proposed addition to the contract: a 13th “floater” deputy who would increase the cost of the contract 20 percent, to $1.65 million, in a year when the district is getting no additional “Safe Schools” dollars from the legislature and is facing its own budget challenges.
Flagler Students Taking Vouchers for Private Education Double to 1,606 in One Year, Accelerating Drain from Public Schools
The number of Flagler County students taking public money for private, parochial or homeschool education doubled from last year to this year, from 884 to 1,606, according to the district’s latest calculations, far more than initially estimated. In spring, the district, based on state-provided figures, estimated that 1,236 students would draw on vouchers. The 1,606 students are draining $14.2 million in public education dollars from the district had they been attending traditional public schools.
Flagler Schools Again Fall Short of an A as Poor Gains Among Lowest Performers and 2 Schools’ Retreats Result in B
For the fourth straight year and the 11th of the last 12 years that the state has issued school grades, the Flagler County School District was rated B, despite a year of gains in almost every one of the district’s nine traditional school and in many categories. It just wasn’t enough. The district fell just two percentage points short of the needed 64 to rank an A, as it did last year, even though the threshold for an A was significantly lower than two years ago.
Flagler District’s New Hire Will Reflect Dual Allegiance to School Choice–and to District as ‘the Best Choice’
As the Flagler County school district is forced by a new state law to advocate for school choice–including vouchers, homeschooling and virtual schooling–against its own interests, the district is also learning to make the salesmanship work for itself: if there is to be true choice, the district must be included in the mix, and the message the district is disseminating is that it is “the best choice.”
Flagler County Students Post Strong, Across-the-Board Improvements in All Grades and Disciplines, Boosting Superintendent
Flagler County students in all grades improved their scores year over year in English and math, in some cases markedly so, as well as in all other disciplines subject to standardized tests, according to figures released by the state Department of Education Wednesday. The results are a boon to Superintendent LaShakia Moore and her administration, reflecting the first testing cycle entirely on her watch since her appointment in September 2023.
‘We’re Not in a Great Shape,’ School Board’s Derek Barrs Warns as Vouchers Fuel Financial Crunch and Enrollment Drop
The Flagler County school district is caught in a feedback loop draining its budget as enrollment drops: more students are abandoning the district for private or homeschool education paid for with public money. That reduces the amount of state money the district can count on. More limited resources may encourage more students to leave, further reducing state dollars going to the district.
Ex-Teacher Union Leader Katie Hansen is Buddy Taylor’s New Principal, Mike Rinaldi Takes Over at Matanzas
Flagler County School Superintendent LaShakia Moore has named Katie Hansen the next principal of Buddy Taylor Middle School, following Cara Cronk’s retirement, and Mike Rinaldi the principal of Matanzas High School, following the resignation of Kristin Bozeman, who is moving to North Carolina with her family after three years leading the school.
Jim Guines, Mentor, Maverick and Force to Be Reckoned With on Flagler County School Board for 11 Years, Dies at 93
Jim Guines, the forceful, witty, always independent and at times unpredictable member of the Flagler County School Board for 11 years until 2007–the man many had known as Smokin’ Jim for his storied barbecue–died this morning (June 15) at 93 after battling many illnesses and what Lawrence Durrell called “the slow disgracing of the mind.”
AP, IB and AICE Face Sharp Cuts if Florida Senators Have Their Way
The Senate is warming to a new funding means for advanced courses allowing high school students to earn college credits. But the upper chamber has still only offered 70 percent of the funding calculated under a model in use for decades. A Senate PreK-12 Education Appropriations Committee offer Thursday provides $418 million in the form of a categorical grant to school districts. That’s more than $175 million less than the House wants to fund.
Ethics Opinion Recommends Restricting Flagler School Board’s Lauren Ramirez’s Business Activities in Schools
A proposed opinion by the staff attorney of the Florida Ethics Commission recommends restricting Flagler County School Board member Lauren Ramirez’s private-business activities in Flagler schools to unbranded and neutral volunteering. If ratified, the opinion would prohibit Ramirez from marketing her company on school grounds, recruiting students to her various programs, employing any school personnel either as company staffers or as volunteers, sponsoring any teams or events beyond unmarked donations, or using a district-wide communication tool to market her company’s fliers to students.
Matanzas High School Celebrates Airy New $23 Million Project, Which May Be Last Needed Expansion in the District
A few months ahead of time, Matanzas High School on Tuesday marked a ceremonial opening of “the space that we have dreamed about and planned for for so long,” the naturally cheery Principal Kristin Bozeman told a crowd of a few dozen people who’d gathered for the occasion. They stood at the foot of the expanded Building 5, a 20,000 square foot addition. Projected student population declines this could be the last needed expansion in the district.
Superintendent LaShakia Moore Is Taking on ‘School Choice’ on Her Terms: Stop Competing with Vouchers at a Disadvantage
Flagler County School Superintendent LaShakia Moore is all for school choice. Choice is good. Choice is necessary. But choice, to be authentic, must be fair. In Florida and in Flagler County, school choice isn’t a choice of equals. It forces public schools to compete at a vast disadvantage, while underwriting private and homeschooling. Students have been draining away from the district. Moore wants to take that on. “It will reflect who we are and how I lead. So we will take it on,” Moore says, as the district prepares a new strategy to project Flagler County’s public schools as still the best choice.
Flagler Schools Face $2.5 Million Deficit as 400 Students Leave District for Private Vouchers in 3% Enrollment Decline
Private and homeschool vouchers are beginning to take a heavier toll on the Flagler County school district as enrollment is forecast to decline by 432 students by fall, a 3 percent decline, reducing the district’s funding by $2.5 million. That’s equivalent to 30 fewer teachers. Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore is concerned that the pattern may be unsustainable as the district analyzes needs and resources over the next three, four and five years and as the shift to vouchers accelerates.