Cathy Mittelstadt, the deputy superintendent in St. Johns County Schools, and Vernon Orndorff, previously Jacob Oliva’s right-hand man in the Flagler district, are among the applicants. The window closes Jan. 31.
Flagler County School Board
Beyond Transgender Student’s Transfer Out of Matanzas, Calls on School Board to Take LGBTQ Safety Seriously
A throng of students, faculty members and parents asked the Flagler County School Board Tuesday to support more explicit procedures protecting LGBTQ students as Charlene Cothran, a Palm Coast pastor, again attacked the a transgender student and ridiculed LGBTQ rights.
A Day After a Teacher Is Arrested for Battering a Student, a 15-Year-Old Is Arrested for Battering FPC Dean
A 15-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student was arrested and charged with battery against FPC Dean Erin Davis, the student’s second such charge involving a faculty member since August.
Flagler Schools’ Graduation Rate Rises to 89%, Powered by Girls
There is a sharp disparity between boys and girls: among girls, 97 percent of Matanzas’ students graduated, and 91 percent of FPC’s did. Among boys, the rate was 91 at Matanzas and 82 at FPC.
Jeffrey ‘Rocco’ Paffumi, 47, Teacher at Buddy Taylor Middle, Arrested for Battery on a Student, 14
Jeffrey Allen Paffumi, a teacher at Buddy Taylor Middle School, was arrested after physically throwing a 14-year-old student out of his classroom after the student would not turn down his music and called him a name.
School Board’s New Suicide-Prevention Policy Would Require Training for All Faculty
With youth suicide rising sharply in the past decade, the Flagler County School Board will discuss adopting a proposed suicide-prevention policy, the district’s first, which calls for two hours of continuing education training for all faculty, including administrators.
Flagler School Board Lets a Pastor Insult a Transgender Student at a Meeting, In His Presence
Rev. Charlene Cothran of Palm Coast called a transgender student “mentally ill” and his father “confused” and “intimidated” in both their presence during a Flagler County School Board meeting this week, with pushback only from Colleen Conklin.
Amicus Curiae: The 16-Year-Old FPC Girl Was Racist. She Was Stupid. She Was Not Criminal.
In the case of an FPC girl who wrote bigoted threats about her teacher last December, the prosecution is making outlandish claims that it was act of terrorism, stretching the meaning of a 2018 law passed after the Parkland massacre. The law does not apply, as even the prosecution acknowledged the case’s weaknesses.
For Public, Diversity and Technology Don’t Rate as High as District’s Priorities in Superintendent Search
Inspirational, trustworthy and innovative. On top of current educational issues. Financially savvy. Good listener. Familiar with Flagler schools. Those are the top qualities unidentified respondents want in the next Flagler County school superintendent, according to a school district online survey.
Belle Terre Elementary PTO President Jennifer Paterno Addresses Ongoing Investigations
Belle Terre Elementary School President Jennifer Paterno discusses her role in bringing to light issues that led to an internal school district and criminal investigation of alleged financial improprieties in the organization previously.
FPC Student Faces Felony Charge After NFL Argument Escalates to Death Threat and Insults About Appearance
Two Flagler Palm Coast High School students arguing over the NFL had an altercation that led to one boy making written death threats against the other boy and his parents, on Instagram.
Flagler Students’ and Faculty’s ‘Football Sunday’ at Palm Coast Church Termed ‘Serious Constitutional Violation’
“Football Sunday” at Palm Coast’s United Methodist Church has annually invited students, coaches and faculty from FPC and Matanzas, among others, in religious services, drawing a rebuke from the Freedom from Religion Foundation on constitutional grounds.
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Culver ‘Retires’ As District Investigates Allegations of Hostile Work Environment
Belle Terre Elementary Principal Terence Culver was under internal investigation over a hostile work environment when he announced his “retirement,” following other investigations that looked at unaccounted funds in the PTO account and issues with disciplining of a special education student.
Search Fatigue or Satisfaction Limit Turnout at Public Forum on Choosing Next School Superintendent
Just eight people participated in a public forum designed to hear ideas about what sort of school superintendent should be hired next, what challenges lay ahead and what works in the district today.
Dave Sullivan Is New County Commission Chairman, McDonald Retains School Board Chair
The titles don’t necessarily mean as much as they imply. No chairman or vice-chairman has more power than he or she would have had without the title, though some try to use more heft than they have.
Parent Who Allegedly Threatened to Burn Down Bunnell Elementary Over Racism Faces Felony Charge–and Potential Hate Crime
A 23-year-old parent of two children at Bunnell Elementary accused school staff of being racist and was heard allegedly threatening to burn down the school. The sheriff’s office forwarded a felony charge to the State Attorney’s Office and recommended a more serious charge under the state’s hate-crime law.
Next Year’s School Calendar Builds In 2 Days Off for Elections and Hurricane Make-Up Days, Leaving Thanksgiving Week Off Intact
Next year’s Flagler schools calendar will keep students off campus on election days and provide four built-in hurricane make-up days before Thanksgiving Week is affected.
School Board Calls for Investigation of FPC’s Discipline Procedures in Unusual Settlement With Ex-Teacher’s Whistleblower Complaint
Vanishing disciplinary paperwork and lax follow-ups in bullying and harassment complaints were of special concern to the school board as it settled a whistleblower case with ex-FPC’s i3 teacher Robert Sprouse Tuesday, agreeing to pay him up to $30,000.
From High School to $37,000-a-Year Firefighters: Flagler Hires 1st Three Recruits Out of FPC’s Fire Academy
Noah Dunaway, Dylan Cronk and Beau Kruithoff, all 18, are the very first Flagler County Fire Rescue recruits to be hired directly out of FPC’s fire academy. They were introduced to the Flagler County Commission this morning. They’ll be making $37,000 a year within weeks.
In Public Survey, Flagler Schools, Teachers and Safety Get High Marks, the Board a Bit Lower Ones
A community survey by the Flagler County school district finds strong support for its teachers and programs and a strong sense of safety, though the survey drew around 400 responses and the questions were limited and leading.
Flagler School Board Adopts Process Broadly Inclusive of Community in Choosing Next Superintendent
The Flagler school board will involve an internal, staff focus group, a community advisory committee, a community survey and a community forum as it decides what sort of superintendent to hire by next March.
A “Highly Effective” Teacher Loses His Job at FPC. He Says It Was Retaliation for Whistle-Blowing. District Disagrees.
Robert Sprouse is claiming in a whistleblower action that his contract was not renewed because of the way he reported on a male senior’s repeatedly inappropriate and harassing behavior toward several girls–to school officials, the sheriff’s office and the Department of Children and Families.
DeSantis Seeks to Raise Minimum Salary for Florida Teachers to $47,500, or $7,000 Higher Than in Flagler
The Florida Education Association statewide teachers union issued a news release saying it was “encouraged to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis make clear that teacher pay matters to his administration.” But it also raised questions about how the plan would be funded and what it would do to help retain longstanding teachers.
Rabbi Shapiro Makes Legal Case Against Flagler School Board Reviving Invocations at Meetings
Palm Coast’s Merrill Shapiro, a member of the national board of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, presented legal arguments at a talk Thursday against the Flagler County School Board’s potential return to starting meetings with invocations.
Zero Tolerance For Threatening Students? Not Exactly: Flagler District Enacts More Reasoned Approach
Even though one law calls for zero tolerance regarding threats on campus, another requires local districts to use a “threat assessment tool” that opposes zero tolerance and applies more careful, less drastic responses to students or anyone making threats.
Flagler School Board Attempts Weird Science of Conjuring Its Perfect Next Superintendent
The Flagler County School Board moved up the date of its nomination of the next superintendent to March 10, and drew up a blueprint for the sort of leader it seeks to replace the retiring Jim Tager.
Disagreements Persist About Flagler School Board’s Religious Invocations Past and Future
A divided Flagler County School Board has yet to decide whether and how to conduct invocations at the start of its meetings following Chairman Janet McDonald’s out-of-order introduction of a pastor and her invocation at the August meeting.
UNF Pitches Medical Hub in Palm Coast’s Town Center in Major Partnership With City, Schools and AdventHealth
The University of North Florida is submitting a $23 million request to the State Board of Governors that includes Palm Coast’s Town Center as a hub of an innovative concept of medical higher education that ties directly to medical-sector jobs in Northeast Florida, a concept UNF calls MedNex.
Flagler Schools Require Only One Hurricane Make-Up Day, Leaving Thanksgiving Week Off Intact
The Flagler School district’s extension of the school day by a few minutes a few years ago builds up enough time in the schedule to create a surplus from which the district can then account for hurricane days. A third day will convert a teacher work day into a hurricane make up day.
See Something, Say Something? 3 Flagler School Board Members Say Not If It’s Cancer.
Opposition to the Flagler Health Department’s proposal to offer the HPV vaccine in schools is driven by three board members echoing the rhetoric of vaccine denialism though various irrational pretexts.
Flagler Health Department Chief Calls School Board Member ‘Anti-Science’ in Vaccine Clash
Flagler Health Department Administrator Robert Snyder in a live show on WNZF today accused School Board member Maria Barbosa of being “anti-science” and “anti-vaccines,” in a discussion on making the HPV vaccine available to students in schools.
Just 9 Days Into New School Year, FPC Student, 14, Faces Felony For Threats to Kill
The boy allegedly made the threats to kill in voice and text exchanges with another boy, 13, over Instagram on Thursday. Both were at home. No threats were directed toward any school.
Flagler Schools Quietly Dropped Controversial “Social Sentinel” Surveillance to Pilot More Targeted Alert System
The Flagler school district dropped the $18,000-a-year Social Sentinel surveillance system in April and replaced it with an entirely different approach, called CrisisGo, a crisis-management system accessible to faculty, staff and students.
Christian Prayer at Flagler School Board Breaks 5-Decade Precedent, Without Most Board Members’ Consent
School Board Chair Janet McDonald’s decision to start Tuesday’s meeting with a prayer by a pastor had not been approved by the board nor placed on the agenda, a violation of board procedures and a break with a nearly 50-year precedent.
Divided School Board Stops Short of Killing Voluntary HPV Vaccine to 6th Graders
The Flagler Health Department wants to offer free, voluntary HPV vaccines to 6th graders in Flagler schools, but three school board members are unwilling to agree without first seeing whether enough parents want the offer.
Stop Criminalizing Children in the Name of School Security
The rash of zero-tolerance felony arrests of children that the Flagler school district experienced last year unjustly makes examples of adolescents in the name of a security establishment focusing on the wrong threats across the state.
Lead in Water at ‘Maybe Double’ Allowable Rate Detected at Wadsworth and Bunnell Elementaries
Lead levels at twice the allowable rate were detected in two water fountains tested earlier this month and again at the beginning of the week at Wadsworth Elementary and Bunnell Elementary.
Flagler School District Gets 2 Subpoenas from Statewide Grand Jury, But Considers Itself
In Compliance With Safety Rules
The subpoenas focus on the district’s contract with the sheriff for school deputies, the charter school’s compliance with security requirements, and documents about security-measure financing.
State Rules May Ease Path to Mental Health Counselors’ Qualifications and Toughen Charter School Security
With the start of a new school year just around the corner, Florida officials are eyeing policy changes that would expand the number of mental health professionals in schools and ensure that charter schools are meeting safety requirements.
For Parents’ Peace of Mind, It’s Time for Video and Audio Monitoring of Flagler’s Special Education Classrooms
An incident at Belle Terre Elementary School last school-year illustrates the need for more objective, independent oversight of what goes on in special education classrooms, where students may not have a voice of their own.
School Board’s Next Superintendent Hire Will Include Familiar Consultant and Community Panel
The Flagler County School Board took its first steps Tuesday in what will likely be an eight to nine-month process of replacing Superintendent Jim Tager–and the board’s third search in in five years.
Reprimands Follow District Investigation of Allegations of Inappropriate Treatment of Autistic Child at Belle Terre
The parent of a non-verbal autistic 4th grader at Belle Terre Elementary had recorded staffers over several hours without their knowledge, and filed a complaint that led to a local and state investigation.
Wrestling With New Polling Rules, Flagler District May Close Schools on Both Primary and General Election Days
The Flagler school district may no longer ban campaign workers from soliciting voters on school-based polling places, as it did in the last election, prompting a safety-based consideration of closing all schools on all election days.
School Board Chair Aims for Broad Search for Next Superintendent, Seeing No ‘Heart’ in Internal Pick
Janet McDonald, who chairs the Flagler County School Board through November, says she favors a broad search for the next superintendent but does not detect much interest from internal candidates to take on the job.
Jim Tager Will Retire Next June, Ruling Out Return and Triggering Search For 5th Superintendent in 10 Years
Superintendent Jim Tager will retire in 11 months and will not subsequently return even if the Flagler County School Board were to make arrangements for it, he told the board in a letter.
Flagler School District Is Finally A-Rated Again, Ending 7-Year Drought With Broad Improvements
The drought ends seven straight years of Bs, after a four-year streak of As before that. Twenty-four of Florida’s 67 districts are A-rated, 54 are either A or B rated.
Flagler Students Mostly Improve in Math, English and Civics, Ranking District in Top Third of State, But Struggle in Science
Imagine School at Town center had a particularly strong showing in English and math, as did Old Kings Elementary. Buddy Taylor middle school had concerning numbers in math’s Florida Standards Assessments but stronger numbers in geometry and algebra.
Just Fired in Volusia, Tom Russell Overcomes Deep Skepticism to Win FPC Principal’s Job
Tom Russell, Fired last week after a four and a half year tenure as Volusia’s superintendent, becomes the eighth principal in 15 years at FPC, but pledges to be there for up to seven years, and finish his career there.
Flagler Health Department Wants To Offer Free HPV Vaccine to Teen Students, But School Board Is Unconvinced
The HPV vaccine immunizes against the sexually transmitted disease and prevents nine cancers, and local immunization is very low, but two Flagler school board members are not eager to see it offered to 13 to 17 year olds.
Stunning Her Colleagues, School Board’s Janet McDonald Says It’s Time to Look
For New Superintendent
Superintendent Jim Tager is at the end of the second year of a three-year contract, and is required to stop working in July 2020 for at least six months, being in the state’s drop program. One board member said he could sit out six months and return.