In the wake of two turbulent school board meetings, Randall Bertrand was left wondering what all the sound and fury was about since many speakers’ loud and disruptive message was already made moot by school board votes or state policy.
Flagler County School Board
After Parents Object to ‘Equity’ and Race-Driven Balance, Rezoning Plan Now Limits Impact to Palm Coast’s R-Section
After facing a relatively small but angry group of parents who accused the district of wanting to balance school populations in part based on racial and socio-economic equity, the Flagler County school administration on Tuesday announced it was drastically scaling back what would have been a county-wide rezoning plan set for next year. The district is opting instead for rezoning that will affect only the two middle schools, the two high schools and the entirety of Palm Coast’s R-Section and parts of west Flagler, but none other.
Quarantining for Asymptomatic Students Is Now Optional as Florida Issues New Rules Further Limiting Safety Measures
Pointing to a need to “minimize the amount of time students are removed from in-person learning,” the Florida Department of Health on Wednesday issued a revised rule that gives parents more authority to decide whether children go to school after being exposed to people who have covid-19. The new rule replicates the same standard in effect for masking: it’s permissible, but only at parents’ discretion.
Anti-Maskers Turn Another Flagler School Board Meeting Into Virulent, at Times Bigoted and Threatening Spectacle
Even though there was no chance of a mask mandate, the Flagler County School Board meeting Tuesday evening again devolved into an ugly spectacle of anti-mask militancy that at times turned threatening, homophobic, Islamophobic and covid-denying, and required the meeting again to be briefly recessed and board members sent to a safe room.
Flagler District Prepares to Re-Zone Schools for the First Time in Over a Decade in Face of Some Sharp Objections
The Flagler County School Board will vote on a rezoning plan in December, and on Tuesday will hear an updated, phased-in approach that will focus on the two middle schools first, where sixth graders will be shifted starting next year. Localized but intense opposition to rezoning plans compelled the administration to propose a more phased-in approach than a county-wide rezoning.
Flagler School Board’s ‘Retreat’ Unravels in Rancor and Accusations as Deep Dysfunctions Are Laid Bare
The Flagler County School Board’s day-long “retreat” on Sept. 9, designed to hone leadership and cohesion skills, was a grueling, at times a shocking display of mistrust, dysfunction, dissembling and exasperation by the board members as the fallout from recent issues revealed deep fissures. Whether the board can bridge huge gaps of mistrust remains uncertain.
School District’s Request to Double Impact Fees Turns Into Hostile Inquisition by County Commission and Builders
In an unexpected turn, what the Flagler County school district thought was a mere formality before the County Commission turned into a 90-minute grilling by commissioners and a parade of doubt by builders who consider the district’s request to double impact fees ill-thought and ill-timed.
Volusia and Other School Districts Are Backtracking on Mask Policies and Broadening Opt-Outs at Parents’ Discretion
At least two school districts — Volusia and Lee — that previously adopted strict mask mandates have decided to allow parents to opt their students out of the policy for any reason, while a third, Indian River, now requires masks only at certain times when Covid-19 surges in isolated schools.
Set in Tallahassee, Flagler School Tax Rate Declines for 7th Year in a Row, and to Another Historic Low
The Flagler County School Board on Sept. 7 adopted its property tax rate and $212 million budget for 2021-22. The tax rate, set by lawmakers in Tallahassee, continues a two-and-a-half decade downward trend, to $5.865 per $1,000 in taxable value, down from $6 last year.
After 2,234 Students’ Quarantines, Flagler Medical Director Urges Masking in Schools. Board Still Refuses.
Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler Health Department, discussed stronger covid-safety measures with the Flagler County School Board today, but in the end a majority of the board, citing the governor’s executive banning mask mandates, showed no inclination to adopt such measures as mandatory masking.