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Flagler County School Board

Local Governments Ask Court to Dismiss Suit by ‘Disgruntled Citizen’ Challenging Carver Center Agreement

April 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

South Bunnell's community strongly identifies with the Carver Center. (© FlaglerLive)

The three local governments and one agency that each have a role in funding or running the Carver Center in South Bunnell have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them filed by what they call a “disgruntled citizen” who doesn’t like the Flagler County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League’s involvement at the center, and who they say has no standing to sue.

Cheryl Massaro Opts Out of School Board Race, Leaving District 5 Field to Vincent Sullivan and Lauren Ramirez

April 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

cheryl massaro on flagler school board direction

Flagler County School Board member Cheryl Massaro decided today not to continue what had been a halfhearted campaign for re-election to a second term and opted out of the race, leaving the District 5 field to Palm Coast attorney Vincent Sullivan and long-time Belle Terre Elementary PTO President Lauren Ramirez. At least so far.

Local Firebrand Sues Sheriff, County, Bunnell and School Board Over ‘Illicit’ Carver Center Agreement

April 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

carver gym

Eric Josey, a retired New York cop with a brief, checkered history at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and an often controversial local firebrand in the name of African-American causes, is suing the Sheriff’s Office, the County Commission, the School Board and the city of Bunnell over the four agence’s recent joint agreement in running the Carver Center, also known as Carver Gym, in Bunnell.

Aborting Former Commitment, School Board Votes 3-2 To End Belle Terre Swim Club’s Public Memberships By July

March 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

belle terre swim and racquet

Three Flagler County School Board members–Christy Chong, Will Furry, Sally Hunt–voted Tuesday to close the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the public, 28 years after it was gifted to the district, which has run it with public access to a swimming pool, tennis courts and a fitness gym. The facility has been a financial puzzle for the district for 10 years as well as a cherished institution for a loyal if diminished corps of members. The closure to the public will not end the facility’s financial deficits. It will only reduce them.

School Board’s Colleen Conklin Says County At One Time Paid Entire Cost of School Deputies

March 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Flagler County School Board member Colleen Conklin says there was a time when the county covered the entire cost of school resource deputies. (© FlaglerLive)

Speaking publicly for the first time about the revelation last month that county government was looking to pull back its share of funding for $1.4 million in “legacy” programs it helps pay for in the school district, including about $1 million for school resource deputies, Flagler County School Board member Colleen Conklin today asked for a public conversation, and said “disinformation” has obscured the fact that at one time, more than two decades ago, the county paid for the entirety of the bill.

Chamber Never Consulted Superintendent Before Snatching ‘State of Flagler Schools’ For Its Own, and Charging Money

March 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Supeintendent LaShakia Moore was not aware that the local chamber of commerce had appropriated the traditional "State of the Schools" address superintendents deliver publicly for an event title of its own, at $30 to $35 a plate. Moore, seen here at a literacy event in Town Center earlier this month, has made a point of being accessible in the community. (© FlaglerLive)

The local chamber of commerce is hosting a $30-a-plate lunch on April 30 featuring School Superintendent LaShakia Moore and billed as “The State of Flagler Schools,” the title of an address the superintendent has traditionally delivered publicly, for free, once a year. The chamber never bothered to consult Moore about it or, as a courtesy, ask if it could appropriate the public event’s name—let alone for a pay-to-attend event. The Flagler Education Foundation, a co-sponsor, is not getting a share of the proceeds.

40 Flagler Schools Students Advance to International Problem Solvers Competition After Wins in Orlando

March 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A total of 178 students from five schools (Flagler Palm Coast High School, Matanzas High School, Buddy Taylor Middle School, Indian Trails Middle School, and Rymfire Elementary School) took part in the competition, which drew 511 students from across the state. Of the Flagler Schools contingent, 40 have been invited to vie at the international competition, which will take place June 5-9 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Sally Hunt Is Right: Security Isn’t What It Should Be in Flagler’s Biggest Public Building

March 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

public meetings security

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt is right when she deems certain public meetings less than secure. The county and the school board need to to take their own and the public’s safety more seriously in the Government Services Building–the county seat–not with harebrained ideas like locking public meetings’ doors, but with reasonable, inexpensive and unintrusive measures such as metal detectors that are becoming standard in public buildings.

Superintendent ‘Would Be Surprised or Shocked’ By County’s Move Away from School Deputy Support

March 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Superintendent LaShakia Moore at a recent workshop of the School Board. Her wristband reads: "You Are Enough." (© FlaglerLive)

Dampening the county’s hopes to reduce the $1 million it contributes to the School Board to pay for sheriff’s deputies in every school–and more in other “legacy” contributions, as the county calls them–Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore says she does not see how the community would accept a retreat from the combined commitment by the School Board and the County Commission.

Census Bureau: Flagler County’s Population Was 131,500 Last July, an Increase of 16,000 in Three Years

March 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Clearing the way for more housing in Palm Coast's P Section. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County is again among the faster-growing counties in the nation, but not among the fastest. The county added 16,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, a 14 percent increase beginning to resemble the population surge of the early 2000s that was halted by the housing crash. Put another way: the county has grown by a population equivalent to more than three times the size of Flagler Beach in that brief span. Just since 2010, the county has grown by 40,000 people.

As DeSantis Crows, Opponents of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Say Settlement Rectifies Some of the Damage

March 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

anti lgbtq cheap shots

Gov. Ron DeSantis was quick out the door with a claim that a settlement in a legal challenge to his Parental Rights in Education Act— or Don’t Say Gay — vindicated his efforts “to keep radical gender and sexual ideology out of the classrooms of public-school children.” In fact, the settlement agreement’s terms also limit enforcement of that law which the governor pushed through the Legislature two years ago to bar public school instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.

‘Reading Is My Passion’ Sums Up Read Across Flagler Literacy Celebration Bookmarked by Media Specialists

March 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Author Amir Shah shows the crowd the title of the second of his planned trilogy of his "Play the Game Series," the first of which was published this week, at Thursday's Literacy Night at Town Center. Standing next to him is Lukas Notaras of Matanzas High School, who conducted an off-the-cuff interview with Shah in front of the audience. (© FlaglerLive)

Read Across Flagler Literacy Night at Palm Coast’s Town Center was as much a celebration of reading as it was of the school district’s media specialists who, pound for pound, have been the single-most besieged group of professionals in the district in the last couple of years of book bans, disrespect and ignorant rhetoric from the very school board members who should be championing them.

Palm Coast Opts for St. Augustine’s Douglas Law Firm as Replacement for City Attorney, at $30,000 a Month

March 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The three Douglas Law Firm attorneys who will represent the Palm Coast City Council, with Marcus Duffy, right, as the principal attorney, Jeremiah Blocker, center, and John Preston. (Douglas Law Firm)

Its 17-year relationship with the same law firm ending, not of its own choice, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday unanimously opted to negotiate a contract with the Douglas Law Firm of St. Augustine, a 12-attorney firm established 10 years ago, with offices in several northeast Florida counties but just now expanding to Flagler Beach. Douglas is proposing a $30,000-a-month fee, or 120 hours of work at $250 an hour. Extra hours are billed additionally.

Sally Hunt and Christy Chong Suggest Locking School Board Meeting Doors for Security and ‘Buzzing’ In People

March 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

What board members attended in person Tuesday--Cheryl Massaro, Christy Chon, Will Furry--listen to Sally Hunt by phone as Hunt speaks of her security concerns at workshops. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools Youtube)

Sally Hunt made her evasive comment during a workshop after Board member Cheryl Massaro proposed that the board reevaluate the need for a $48-an-hour school resource deputy at each of its workshops. Hunt and Board member Christy Chong suggested locking the board room door during meetings, until they were told the meetings had to be kept accessible to the public at all times.

Palm Coast Searches for Its New Attorney In the Open. School Board Chooses Secrecy.

February 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

The School Board met on Jan. 23 to discuss its potential choice for new attorney representation. The meeting was not streamed, as meetings usually are. IKt was open to the public, but all documents that were part of the discussion were kept secret. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council and the Flagler County School Board are searching for new attorneys to represent them in two very different ways. The council is conducting its search entirely in the open, ensuring that all related documents are public, providing them on request, and interviewing the firms in open forum. The school board, in contrast with its own precedents and with all other local governments, possibly in violation of law, is not.

Andy Dance Responds: ‘School Resource Deputies Are Not Leaving School Campuses.’

February 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

County Commission Chair Andy Dance. (© FlaglerLive)

In a detailed response to FlaglerLive reporting and an opinion piece on the county’s plan to “defund” its portion of school sheriff’s deputies, County Commission Chair Andy Dance refutes the claim as inflammatory and out of context, and lays out a history of county attempts going back to 2022 to initiate a conversation about school and county funding for school deputies, in hopes of realigning those responsibilities. If that proves unfeasible, Dance pledges, than the shared responsibility will continue.

DOA: Behind the County’s Clumsy Push to Defund School Deputies

February 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

school resource deputy funding

Whichever way you look at it, the Flagler County Commission’s and its administrator’s letter to the school district calling for a plan to defund the county’s portion of money for school deputies was clumsy, terribly timed, and an unnecessary invitation to political grandstanding in an election year. Deputies aren’t going anywhere, nor is the county’s funding. But nor should this be another invitation for the School Board to consider harebrained ideas like arming staffers.

Three School Board Members Are Champing at the Bit to Close Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the Public

February 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

The Synchro Belles, the synchronized swimming team, has used the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club for years. That won't change. But a majority of Flagler County School Board members are eager to close the swim club to the public. (© FlaglerLive)

If they could have voted on it Tuesday, Flagler County School Board members Will Furry, Christy Chong and Sally Hunt would have closed the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the public. They would have turned the 11-acre club gifted to the school board by ITT in 1996 into a facility for students and school programs only, with the exception of swimming pool rentals to other clubs or parties.

School Board and Parents Grapple with County’s ‘Blindsiding’ Call To Defund Its Portion of School Deputies

February 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

A Flagler County Sheriff's deputy at a recent School Board meeting. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board members and parents spoke of surprise, concern and “blindsiding,” in the words of the board’s chair, in reaction to a Feb. 13 letter from County Administrator Heidi Petito to the superintendent saying the county had reached “an important decision” to “gradually transfer the financial responsibility” for $1.4 million in “these legacy expenditures to the school district,” including the county’s more than $1 million commitment to school resource deputies.

Sally Hunt Is Again a No Show, Raising Questions Among Her School Board Colleagues and Her Seat

February 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

sally hunt no show

School Board member Sally Hunt’s “chronic” absences drew criticism from fellow-Board member Cheryl Massaro at today’s meeting, concerns about the functioning of a board that, without a majority, could see many of its actions fail (a 2-2 vote is equivalent to the death of a motion) and questions about Hunt’s seat when she resign, as she said she will.

Flagler County Plans to End $1.4 Million Contribution for School Deputies, Administrator Tells Superintendent

February 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Since the Parkland massacre, Flagler County schools and county government have split the cost of ensuring that each of the district's schools has at least one full-time deputy on campus. The high schools have two. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito last week wrote Superintendent LaShakia Moore that county government will no longer pay the $1.4 million a year in subsidies for the school district’s School Resource Officer, ending a 50-50 cost-sharing agreement that’s been in place for a decade. The county is not required by law to share the district’s security costs.

Superintendent Moore Rededicates ‘Our House’ in Bunnell

February 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Superintendent LaShakia Moore with a child at Our House. (Flagler Schools)

This Valentine’s Day, Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore and Flagler County Education Foundation Executive Director Teresa Rizzo, along with others from Our House and from within the community, helped cut the ribbon on the rededication of the 502 South Bacher Street facility.

Sally Hunt’s ‘Causes’ to Fire Attorney, Withheld Despite Numerous Requests, Repeat Fabrications and Unfounded Claims

February 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

The Flagler County School Board's Sally Hunt told a reporter she did not think her causes to fire ex-attorney Kristy Gavin were a public record. (© FlaglerLive)

Sally Hunt, who now openly says she will not complete her term on the board, claims she did not think her “notes” on firing former School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin qualified as public records. The list of 10 grievances echoes the six fellow-Board member Christy Chong filed, repeating some of the same inaccuracies or fabrications and making several unsupported statements.

Indian Trails Middle’s Giles Platt Is Flagler’s Spelling Bee Champ After Conquering ‘Apparatus,’ ‘Vicarious,’ and of Course ‘Acclaim’

February 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Giles Platt of Indian Trails Middle School, hoisting his victory. (Flagler Schools)

It took Indian Trails Middle School eighth grader Giles Platt eight rounds, but he hoisted the 2023-24 Flagler County Spelling Bee Champion’s trophy Thursday evening after spelling apparatus and vicarious correctly. He knew he had it right even before the judges confirmed it, beaming a grin as he repeated the word, then jumping with joy as the audience applauded. Joyce Holmes, an eighth grader at Imagine School at Town Center, is the runner-up.

School Board’s Sally Hunt Is Getting Tired of All Those Celebratory Spotlights and Awareness Proclamations

February 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

School Board member Sally Hunt thinks proclamations and spotlights take too much of the board's time. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt does not seem to be enjoying her job. At least not the fun parts, the parts that give district teachers, employees and students a chance to showcase their accomplishments, the parts that give the community a voice through proclamations. They just drag on too long, and maybe they shouldn’t be part of the “business” portion of the meetings, Hunt told her colleagues at a workshop earlier this week, as she spoke from an undisclosed location, phoning it in.

School Board’s Christy Chong’s ‘Cause’ Letter to Fire Attorney Is a Tissue of Fabrications, Petty Grievances and Cluelessness

February 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

christy chong for cause kristy gavin letter

The six “causes” Flagler County School Board member Christy Chong listed as reasons to fire attorney Kristy Gavin come nowhere near “just cause” as defined in Gavin’s contract. Rather, they’re petty, inaccurate, gossipy and falsified grievances that have more to do with Chong being out of her depth, her embarrassment, her hatred for the press and her contempt for transparency and the public than anything to do with the quality of Gavin’s work in nearly two decades of representing the board. 

Rymfire Elementary’s Allison Kucharski Is Flagler Schools’ Teacher of the Year, Jimmy Sorrentino Wins Honor

January 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Allison Kucharskiand Jimmy Sorrentino with school board members last night at the Auditorium. (Flagler Schools)

Allison Kucharski, a second-grade teacher at Rymfire Elementary School, was named Flagler County Schools’ Teacher of the Year, and Jimmy Sorrentino, Buddy Taylor Middle School’s campus advisor/security and a coach, was named District Employee of the Year Wednesday evening at the district’s annual celebration of itself at Flagler Auditorium.

Clarifying Its Own Roles, School Board Finally Approves Carver Gym Agreement with Expanded PAL Presence

January 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Carver Community Center will have a new controlling agreement on who and how it is operated, with the school district sharing responsibibilities with the county and the Police Athletic League. (© FlaglerLive)

It took half a year, but the Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening approved the new agreement that will revamp and control the operation of the Carver Center, or Carver Gym, in Bunnell, in cooperation with Flagler County, the City of Bunnell, the Sheriff’s Office and its Police Athletic League. PAL will have a much larger role running activities at the center. 

School Board’s Sally Hunt Would Like You To Follow ‘Chain of Command’ Before You Contact Her

January 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 45 Comments

Sally Hunt on Tuesday said she was not long for the school board. (© FlaglerLive)

The School Board’s Sally Hunt made the startling assertion toward the end of Tuesday evening’s board meeting, placing parents and constituents in a subordinate role to what she twice described as a a board as “super boss,” and in effect reversing the roles of elected officials and constituents: she as an elected official is the boss. She wants constituents, her subordinates, to follow the chain of command, starting at school and through the administration, before their case is elevated to her level.

Will Furry Claims Kristy Gavin’s Firing Was ‘For Cause.’ His Termination Letter Contains No Such Thing.

January 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Will Furry chairs the Flagler County School Board. (© FlaglerLive)

School Board Chairman Will Furry insisted today that the firing letter he signed on Monday and that went to Kristy Gavin, the former school board attorney, was “for cause,” as required by her contract. The one-page letter, obtained by FlaglerLive, contains no cause. The silence on the matter appears to be one more weapon in Gavin’s arsenal should she sue the district for breach of contract and wrongful termination.

Cell Towers Behind FPC’s Football Field Is Not a Health Problem, School Board Is Told, and May Be There Years

January 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

The School Board's cell tower, leasing space to two carriers, just behind the football field at Flagler Palm Coast High School.

A consultant the Flagler school district hired to survey and analyze the health hazards, if any, of the monopole cell tower behind the bleachers at Flagler Palm Coast High School had a simple conclusion today: the tower is not a problem. It’s not close to being a problem. And the School Board’s options with it are limited to none as it is leasing space at least until 2046.

School District Attorney Kristy Gavin Is Fired as Board Turns to Evaluating 2 Firms for New Legal Representation

January 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

Kristy gavin's customary desk in the School Board's workshop meeting room, sitting empty today during a morning meeting of the board. (© FlaglerLive)

Ending weeks of uncertainty, Kristy Gavin, the Flagler County School Board’s attorney since 2006, was fired on Monday, a district spokesman confirmed today. The firing is ostensibly for cause, though it sets up a likely legal battle between Gavin and the district, which severed her contract 18 months before its end. Meanwhile this morning, the School Board evaluated two law firms interested in representing the board–GrayRobinson and the Douglas Law Firm.

Objecting to County’s Control of Fees, School Board’s Massaro Not Ready to Sign Off on Carver Center Yet

January 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The School Board's Cheryl Massaro has one last issue with the pending Carver Center joint agreement with other agencies. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Cheryl Massaro, who had formerly run the Carver Center, is not ready to sign off on a joint agreement in the works for months with the county, the Sheriff’s Office and Bunnell on running the facility, raising new concerns about the county taking over authority for setting rental fees there.

Don’t Wave Gay: Long In Force in Flagler Schools, Bill Would Ban Pride and ‘Ideological’ Flags from Public Buildings

January 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

lgbtq flag ban

The Florida House today began moving forward with a proposal that would restrict the types of flags that can be displayed at government buildings and schools, including preventing the display of LGBTQ pride flags. That ban has long been enforced in Flagler schools, based on an interpretation of local policy.

School Board Hobbles Toward Firing Its Attorney and Hiring New Ones, Mostly in Secrecy, as Lawsuit Looms

January 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

kristy gavin contract

Though School Board attorney Kristy Gavin remained on the job, her firing is imminent, but the required “causes” for that firing have yet to materialize. Meanwhile, the board is evaluating replacement attorneys, keeping those applicants’ proposals secret.

FPC Freshman K’imani Gerven-McCoy’s Anthem Opening Legislative Session Draws 29-Second Ovation

January 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

K’imani Gerven-McCoy in the first of two performances of the National Anthem at the Florida Legislature Tuesday, as she stood next to a color guard from the Palm Coast Fire Department. Gerven-McCoy and the color guard were guests of Paul Renner, the House Speaker who also represents Flagler County. (Florida Channel)

K’imani Gerven-McCoy spent her first day back from the winter break a little differently than other Flagler Schools students: she twice sang the National Anthem at the opening sessions of both the Florida House and a joint session of the Legislature, ahead of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s State of the State address.

The Brendan Depa I Have Come To Know

January 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 59 Comments

Brendan Depa at his plea hearing in October. (© FlaglerLive)

Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School special education student who pleaded guilty to the beating of Joan Naydich, his paraprofessional, last February, will be sentenced on Jan. 31. Gene Lopes is a retired special education teacher who has spent the last several months tutoring Depa at the Flagler County jail. Here’s his experience.

Superintendent Appoints Angela O’Brien, a Former Special Education Executive, as Her No. 2

January 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Angela O'Brien. (Flagler Schools)

Superintendent LaShakia Moore is recommending the appointment of Angela O’Brien to the post of Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services. The post was previously held by Moore. O’Brien previously served as Regional Director for Pennsylvania-based New Story Schools–a national network of schools that focuses on students with special needs.

School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin Still On the Job, With ‘Progress’ and Uncertainty on Resolution

January 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The logo on the travel mug still says Flagler Schools. (© FlaglerLive)

School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin was still on the job this morning–as a School Board attorney. But uncertainty remains, even though the board has approved a new job description that would theoretically allow Gavin to step into a new role as staff attorney, or general counsel, answering to the superintendent.

Flagler Students Violated Limited Cell Phone Ban 1,300 Times This Year; Principals Caution Against Total Ban

December 21, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

cell phone usage

There’s no recommendation from the administration to go further than the current cell-phone ban in schools, which still allows students to use their phones between classes and at lunch. If anything, Flagler’s middle and high school principals are cautioning the school board against imposing a stricter ban, finding the current balance effective and educational.

Approval of Carver Center’s Joint Agreement Is Upended as School Board Has Late-Breaking Changes

December 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Carver Center

In the works since June, a new, joint agreement on management and oversight of the Carver Center in Bunnell will have to wait until at least January before it is enacted, because a misstep at the school district delayed a legal review of the agreement. That kept the School Board from seeing the revised proposal for the first time until the County Commission had already approved the original version.

Moore Overruled Panel to Name Cari McGee, Outspoken Diversity Expert and Advocate, Bunnell Elementary Principal

December 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Three principals since last February, when that picture was taken at Bunnell Elementary. At the time, Marcus Sanfilippo, center, was the principal. Donelle Evensen, right, replaced him in late July. Cari McGee, left, is the new principal. (Flagler Schools)

Superintendent LaShakia Moore’s choice of Cari McGee as Bunnell Elementary’s next principal says as much about Moore’s willingness to buck recommendations and trust her own instinct as it does about McGee, a committed and–like Moore, opinionated and socially conscious–leader who a few years ago signed her name to an open letter condemning “inaction in the face of oppression” and lambasting Nancy Pelosi for using the language of white supremacy.

Winnie Oden, Peripatetic Educator In Flagler Schools With Foresight and a Passion for Security, Dies at 75

December 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Oden–who was officially known as Juanita Winnie Oden–had a mind of her own, opinions to spare and the kind of foresight that led to champion safety and security well before the Parkland massacre. She was as outspoken as she was irrepressible, and did not mind ruffling a feather or two–going as far as suing her own school board when she was serving on it.

Flagler School District’s Poison-Pill Offer to Save Attorney Kristy Gavin’s Job Draws Warning of Lawsuit Ahead

December 14, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Flagler County School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin aces her own board's firing squad. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

The Flagler school district’s negotiations with Board Attorney Kristy Gavin have soured following the district’s condition that Gavin should give up the right to sue in exchange for her keeping her job. School Board member Cheryl Massaro says Gavin, who is not likely to accept such terms, is likely to be fired by year’s end, and to sue the district on numerous grounds including breach of contract, wrongful discharge, hostile work environment, age and sex discrimination and defamation.

Flagler Schools Again a ‘B’ District, With Only 2 Schools Notching A’s and FPC Improving to B

December 11, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

A bit difficult to make the case, based on grades released today. (© FlaglerLive)

Twenty-nine Florida school districts–or 43 percent of districts in the state–scored an A this year. The Flagler County school district is not among them. The district notched another B, its ninth in the last 10 years that the state Department of Education has awarded school grades.. When a plurality of districts across the state score an A and Flagler does not, it makes it harder for the district to claim, as its motto likes to claim, that it is a “premier learning organization,” or that it promotes a “culture of excellence.”

School Board Saves Thanksgiving Week Off for 2024-25 Calendar, But at Cost of Extending High School Day

December 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The school board today endorsed the planned 2024-25 school calendar. (Manasvita S on Unsplash)

The school day for Flagler County high school students will be longer by seven minutes each day starting next fall, with a minute added to each class period so the instructional calendar can still meet the legally required total number of class hours per semester, while the Thanksgiving week holiday is not affected. Class periods will go from 47 to 48 minutes.

ER Physician Paul Mucciolo Files for Conklin’s School Board Seat, Citing Need for ‘Healthy Dose of Professionalism’

December 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Dr. Paul Mucciolo. (© FlaglerLive)

Dr. Paul Mucciolo, an emergency-medicine physician at AdventHealth Palm Coast, declared his candidacy for the District 3 seat on the Flagler County School Board to bring back “a healthy dose of professionalism” to the board, he said, and to return the school district to an A-rated organization. Mucciolo is running for the seat Colleen Conklin has held since 2000. Conklin has elected not to run again in 2024, as has Cheryl Massaro, though Massaro may not have entirely closed the door on another run. 

Proposed Joint Agreement on Bunnell’s Carver Center Governance Gives Sheriff’s PAL New and Larger Role

December 5, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Carver Center gym before a town hall organized by Superintendent LaShakia Moore in late September. (© FlaglerLive)

A proposed joint agreement on governing the Carver Center in South Bunnell–the area’s only recreation and community center–gives the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Police Athletic League a broader presence and a much more prominent role in the management of the facility, especially in programming and running the gym.

Belle Terre Elementary’s Jessica DeFord and Matanzas High’s Sara Novak are Top Administrators of the Year

November 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Jessica DeFord, left, and Sara Novak. (Flagler Schools)

Flagler Schools announced today, in an unusually terse release, that Jessica DeFord is the District Principal of the Year and Sara Novak is the Assistant Principal of the Year.

Muddled Flagler School Board Has Only Vague Ideas Who Would Handle Legal Needs If Its Attorney Were Fired

November 29, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Not fired yet. (© FlaglerLive)

School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin isn’t fired yet, with a Dec. 31 deadline looming. But the school board’s 50-minute discussion on what sort of legal representation it needs accented a chasm between two veteran board members focused on pragmatism and bottom lines on one side, and, on the other, the board’s three newest members’ willingness to improvise as they go, with little heed for consequences. The district administration is left to pick up the pieces.

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