Belle Terre Principal Terence Culver wanted to atone for ignoring Black History Month for five years by hosting a read-in featuring community leaders including the sheriff, many cops and firefighters, school board members, the Palm Coast mayor and many more.
Flagler County School Board
Survey Gives You Chance To Tell Flagler School Board What You Want In Next Superintendent
As part of its search to replace Superintendent Jacob Oliva, the board is making an electronic survey available to residents, including school employees and students, and seeking as much participation as possible.
Woody’s Joe Rizzo Named Director of Flagler Education Foundation, Replacing Williams
Joe Rizzo, a Flagler native and part-owner of several local restaurants, will diminish his role there to take up the full-time job at the foundation, on whose board he’s served for eight years, one of them as president.
School Board Adopts Hasty Plan to Hire Next Superintendent in Broad Search By May 2
The Flagler School Board Friday approved a want-ad and using the Florida School Board Association to lead the search, marginalizing what influence a local advisory committee may have and replicating the speedy process adopted three years ago.
Divided School Board Blocks Internal Hire of Next Superintendent, Opting for Fast Search
In a 3-2 split, Flagler School Board members opted against cutting short the search for Superintendent Jacob Oliva with an immediate, internal hire despite the risks of an expedited, broader search to fill the position by June 1.
Why Are Flagler Schools Talking Rezoning Despite 2,000 Empty Seats? One Word: Choice
Old Kings and Belle Terre elementaries are overcapacity because they’ve allowed too many out-of-zone students to enroll. Some Board members want limits on such “choice” enrollments before rezoning takes place.
School Board’s 1st Step in Replacing Jacob Oliva: Figuring Out How Broad of a Search
The Flagler School Board wants to hear from the state board association whether it should seek help through that route, though it intends to appoint a local citizen’s search committee as well.
Flagler Superintendent Jacob Oliva Is Named Florida Vice Chancellor for K-12 Education, Will Leave in June
Superintendent Jacob Oliva’s three-year tenure has been largely controversy-free and saw the expansion of technology and classroom-to-career programs. He leaves in May.
School Board’s Trevor Tucker Mulls Run for Tax Collector, Nate McLaughlin Eyes House Seat
School Board member Trevor Tucker confirmed he was considering a run for tax collector in four years, and if so would not run for school board again in 2018, while Commissioner Nate McLaughlin has his eyes on Paul Renner’s House seat in 2022.
Flagler School Board Finds New Way to Recite The Pledge: With Pixels and iPhone For All
In a retreat at Cattlemen’s Hall on the county fairgrounds today, the Flagler School Board faced a dilemma: there was no flag to which to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. A minor debate ensued, then Superintendent Jacob Oliva found a solution.
In “Retreat,” Flagler School Board Meets to Revamp Its Rules as Tucker Seeks Streamlining
The public is not likely to detect too many changes, other than the obvious reduction in actual meetings, which will be cut in half. But more subtle changes will be apparent.
Flagler Schools’ Bus Drivers and Nurses, Among Others, Finally Get Modest Pay Increase
Bus drivers, among the lowest paid employees in the district, will get a $2-an-hour raise, nurses will get a $3.65-an-hour increase, improving recruiting in those positions. Administrators, too, are getting a raise: 25 cents an hour.
Two FPC Students Involved In Feared Plot Against the School Face Felony Charges
Two of the six students suspended from school after the feared plot was uncovered in September were charged with making false bomb threats and apparently expelled from school today, but have not been arrested.
Sheriff Meets With FPC and Matanzas Students On Timely Issues But Again Gives Neither Public Nor Press Notice
It was the sixth time Sheriff Jim Manfre held “One Common Ground” meetings with community members, and the sixth time his office neglected to publicly notice the meetings or inform local media so they could be properly reported.
Lawyers Cut Trenches in Case Involving Kids’ Sexual Improprieties at Old Kings Elementary VPK
The case now in Flagler circuit court potentially opens a window onto a relatively new world of early childhood education, but one with little of the regulations or oversight that attends K-12 programs.
New School Board Chairman Trevor Tucker Calls For, and Gets, Half As Many Meetings
Relying on a faulty analogy with Duval County schools, Flagler County School Board Chairman Trevor Tucker wants the number of meetings cut from four to two per month, but wants these to be meatier than they’ve been. The board gave its guarded approval.
Investiture Day: School Board and County Commission Members Old and New Sworn In
Charlie Ericksen, Donald O’Brien and Dave Sullivan were sworn-in at the county commission, Colleen Conklin and Maria Barbosa at the school board in a pair of ceremonies that marked the more pronounced changes in local government resulting from the November election.
School Board Chairman Colleen Conklin On the Trump Election: “Words Matter”
In light of the swastika incident at Palm Coast’s Imagine School and many other hurtful or vile statements during the election campaign, the school board chairman calls on local leaders to denounce messages that erode trust and respect.
Revered School District Administrator Is Baker Acted Outside Government Services Building
Hearts are breaking at school district offices at the Government Services Building in the wake of an unsettling incident Wednesday afternoon involving Shawn Schmidli, one of the district’s most admired and prized administrators.
Bringer of Joy: Flagler Youth Orchestra In Concert at Auditorium Wednesday With Holst, Handel and Synergy
This is the Youth Orchestra’s 12th season and the first of of its full-orchestra performances this year, with 275 students in five ensembles and the faculty quartet performing some 14 works.
A School Superintendent’s Message Home In Light of Trump’s Victory: Diversity Is Strength
“First and foremost, we must reassure our staff and students that our school buildings are safe places where we truly value and respect every single individual and do not tolerate bullying or hate speech,” wrote Jack R. Smith in a letter to parents of children in Montgomery County public schools.
Matanzas Student Arrested After Becoming Aggressive Toward School Deputy at Lunch
An 18-year-old Matanzas High School student was arrested today at school after a lunch-hour confrontation that started with a student and escalated to involve school staffers and school resource deputies.
Myra Middleton-Valentine, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Myra Middleton-Valentine is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Paul Anderson, Maria Barbosa, and Sharon Demers. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the Aug. 30 primary in this non-partisan race regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be decided on Aug. 30.
Maria Barbosa, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Maria Barbosa is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Myra Middleton Valentine in the Nov. 8 runoff. Barbosa’s largely plagiarized answers to her first interview, when she unsuccessfully ran in 2014, are reproduced here, as she declined to be interviewed for the current election.
School Board Scraps Part of Thanksgiving Week Off: 2 Make-Up Days Scheduled That Week
Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, November 21 and 22, were to have been part of the week off. Now they’ll be make-up days for students in all Flagler County schools, as will days in March and April.
Taxes Will Stay Flat For Most Property Owners in Flagler and Its Cities in 2017
Taxes have increased in Flagler County and in all five cities, but will be largely offset by a tax decrease in school taxes, while values have increased only marginally.
Divided Over Car Sale at FPC that “Violated” Pact and Precedent, School Board Mulls Next Step
Two school board members charge that an agreement signed with the district on the use of FPC was violated when a car “show” turned into a major car sale, but the board is unclear over what to do next.
School Board’s Conklin “Willfully” Failed to File Disclosure, But Ethics Panel Stops Short of Removing Her From Office
Colleen Conklin took months to file a financial disclosure form and paid a $1,500 fine over it, but an ethics investigation found her failure had been “willful,” and the Florida Ethics Commission could have had grounds to remove Conklin from her Flagler County School Board seat.
School Board Members Blister “Subleasing” of FPC Campus to Out-of-Town Car Dealer, Exposing Problems
This weekend, without the school board’s knowledge, the entire parking lot of Flagler Palm Coast High School will be turned over to Ritchey Auto of Daytona Beach in a giant car and boat sale that has angered local car dealers and school board members, exposing flaws in the district’s use-of-facilities policy.
6 Students Implicated in “Detailed Plan to Attack” Flagler Palm Coast High School, No Arrests
Six students were at Flagler Palm Coast High School were tied Wednesday to what a district spokesperson described as “a detailed plan to conduct a coordinated plot against Flagler Palm Coast High School.” The alleged plot was to have involved guns.
At Rymfire Elementary, Response to a Child’s Scar Comes Unglued and Leads to a Lawsuit
A 1st-grader at Rymfire Elementary came home with a bleeding head from a scar that her mother claims was treated improperly by an unqualified staffer, while the school never called the parent to let her know her child was being treated.
Flagler School District Sued Over Allegation of A Child-on-Child Sex Battery at Old Kings VPK
The allegation dates from a May 2015 incident in which two VPK students are alleged to have touched or kissed the genitals of a third, and that the alleged assailants were allowed to return to Old Kings Elementary, though not in the same classroom as the alleged victim.
Sharon Demers, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Sharon Demers is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Paul Anderson, Maria Barbosa, and Myra Middleton-Valentine. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the Aug. 30 primary in this non-partisan race regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be decided on Aug. 30.
Paul Anderson, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Paul Anderson is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Sharon Demers, Maria Barbosa, and Myra Middleton-Valentine. All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the Aug. 30 primary in this non-partisan race regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be decided on Aug. 30.
Jason Sands, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Jason Sands is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Colleen Conklin All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the Aug. 30 primary in this non-partisan race regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be decided on Aug. 30.
Colleen Conklin, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Colleen Conklin is a candidate for the Flagler County School Board, running against Jason Sands All registered Flagler County voters may cast a ballot in the Aug. 30 primary in this non-partisan race regardless of party affiliation. The winner will be decided on Aug. 30.
Belle Terre Swim Club Advisory Group Violates School Policy as It Plods Into Political Forums
The Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, created to help save the school board-owned facility, organized three political forums at the club without board permission, used a membership list to send out invitations in violation of board policy, and is not being charged the usual rate for use of facilities.
School Board Readies to Approve Lowest Tax in at Least 22 Years, But Without Cheers
The new tax rate equates to a 4.2 percent decrease from the current rate for homeowners and businesses, which will make a noticeable difference on tax bills.
FLVS Names iFlagler Virtual School Best Small District Franchise in Florida
iFlagler was established 6 years ago and since then has grown in popularity. Just a few years ago there were 300 half-credit enrollments. For the 2015-16 school year, there were 4,000 half-credit enrollments.
Flagler Schools Take a Beating as All But One See Grades Drop; District Maintains B
For the first time in the 15-year history of school and district grades, Flagler County schools did not earn a single A in 2016. Officials are cautioning parents and students not to put too much stock in the results, which reflect a new but also tougher way to grade schools.
Marcus Sanfilippo Will Succeed Richard DuPont as Bunnell Elementary Principal
Marcus Sanfilippo had been an assistant principal at Indian Trails Middle School. He is a former county Teacher of the Year and in 2015 was the assistant principal of the year.
Bunnell Elementary Leads the Way as Flagler’s Problem Solvers Shine Again at Internationals
Flagler County’s nearly 60 community problem solvers accomplished at this year’s international competition what their predecessors have almost every year for more than half a decade: they cleaned up in wins, trophies and plaudits.
Flagler’s Third Graders Improve English Skills and Climb to 10th Best in Florida
The proportion of students who scored a 3 or better (out of 5)–that is, students who are proficient in English at their grade level–also improved, from 60 percent to 63 percent.
6 Local Unions Show Electoral Power as 16 Candidates For School Board, Palm Coast and County Match Mettle
The United Public Employees of Flagler County, representing 6 local public unions, hosted the largest simultaneous political forum in the county’s recent history, yielding a few insights into three races.
Flagler’s African American Mentor Program Honors Its Own Weeks After Earning Unsung Hero Award
The African American Mentoring Program is the creation of former school board member Jim Guines and John Winston, who 10 years ago saw a broad need in the county for mentors to guide young, black students who, for one reason or another, lacked direction.
Flagler Auditorium Sees $500,000 Grant As 1st Step to $5 Million Capital Makeover
The Flagler Auditorium is in line to get five successive $500,000 grants that the auditorium board and the district would match, enabling the transformation of the 25-year-old facility, including a lobby three times bigger than its current size.
Flagler Schools Seeks to Be 1st in Florida To Use Concussion-Alert Football Helmets District-Wide
The helmets, which would cost $500 each, would alert coaches and trainers in real time of the severity of collisions players sustain to the head, enabling trainers to more readily take precautions against concussions.
Demolition Devours Another Chunk of Old Palm Coast as Backhoes Blitz ITT Building
The massive building at 1 Corporate Drive had been ITT headquarters in Palm Coast’s nascent days then office and classroom space for the school district’s adult education programs. The building had its uses but was never a good investment for the district.
Full Funding Restored to Flagler’s Adults With Disabilities Program, a Big Victory for District
Intense lobbying by local school officials and their legislators helped restore the full $545,000 appropriation they’d lost last year, enabling the district to again double enrollment in the Adults with Disabilities’ Step Up program starting July 1.
Ex-Flagler Superintendent Delbrugge’s Son and Daughter Arrested For Stealing Girl Scout’s Cookie Money
Nicholas Delbrugge, 20, and his sister Ashley Winters, both former residents of Flagler County and the son and daughter of former Flagler School Superintendent Bill Delbrugge, were arrested this evening in Deltona and charged with snatching a a girl scout’s cookie money from her hands four days earlier.