There are no arrests, no serious leads, no understandable motives behind the spate of “swatting” calls that have disrupted classes and activities at several schools in Flagler County over the last three days, caused immeasurable anxiety among students, faculty and parents, and caused law enforcement and other responders to expend untold work-hours and other resources.
Flagler County School Board
Flagler Fluid and Advisory Group Float Pair of Plans to Keep Belle Terre Swim Club’s ‘True Spirit’ Viable
Flagler Fluid, the independent swim-team organization operating out of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club since 2001, has submitted a plan to the school district as part of a proposal to take over and run the club as a business, potentially with a fee-based, public-use component, to reverse the district’s recent decision to end membership access to the club.
Flagler Schools Paid Former Indian Trails Middle School Teacher $40,000 to Settle Discrimination Lawsuit
The Flagler County school district paid JaWanda Dove $40,000 to settle a federal lawsuit Dove filed in 2020, alleging that as a Black teacher at Indian Trails Elementary, she had repeatedly been passed over for promotion by white applicants. Dove transferred to Rymfire Elementary last year, where she was promoted to dean and where she remains. Dove had been seeking Dove is seeking $100,000 in back pay and benefits, and an appointment as assistant principal.
Flagler School Board Will Send Letter of Support for Locating Museum of Black History in St. Johns
Following the recommendation of Will Furry, its chair, the Flagler County School Board will send a letter of support to a state task force in hopes of luring the future Museum of Black History to St. Johns County. St. Johns was ranked first among three finalists for the location. Its competitors are Eatonville in Orange County and Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County.
Chief Engert: How Flagler County Jail Stepped Up to Ensure Brendan Depa’s Continuing Education
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and its jail were not responsible for the education of Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School student arrested over a year ago on a charge of aggravated battery of a school employee. Nevertheless, the jail, under the supervision of Chief Daniel Engert, has ensured that a team of volunteers and professionals have continued Depa’s education, with notable and continued successes.
Brendan Depa’s Sentence: Neither Vengeance Nor Mercy. Only Humane Justice.
On May 1 Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will sentence Brendan Depa on a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The punishment will be nowhere near that: the sentencing guidelines don’t call for it, the incident doesn’t warrant it, and Perkins is not a hanging judge. The question is whether he will impose any prison time, and whether reason and justice, not mercy or vengeance, will prevail.
Lawsuit Blames Flagler Schools’ Failure to Address Brendan Depa’s Known Needs and Risks Before Attack on Aide
Brendan Depa, the now-18-year-old former Matanzas High School student captured on surveillance video attacking his teacher’s aide 14 months ago, filed suit today against Flagler County schools, accusing the district of failing to properly address his behavioral end mental disabilities, to properly train the staff in charge, or to provide legally required educational supports. The failures led to a grave but foreseeable, violent incident, the lawsuit states, injuries to the aide, and the prospect for prison for Depa.
The Dis-Education of Brendan Depa
Brendan Depa, the now 18-year-old former Matanzas High School student to be sentenced on May 1 on a first-degree felony count of assaulting a teacher’s aide, is alone being punished for what in fact amounts to a systematic and catastrophic failure, on the part of Matanzas High School and district officials, to follow Depa’s Individualized Education Program, which set out guidelines and requirements on how to contend with his mental health issues.
Tempers Again Flare at School Board Over Disagreement and Misunderstanding of Members’ Roles
Signaling continuing tensions underlying the dynamics of a sharply divided Flagler County School Board, tempers again flared among its members Tuesday evening over the right of members to speak their mind–or not–as Cheryl Massaro inaccurately accused Will Furry, the chair, of violating rules by addressing a recent vote in an Observer letter to the editor and Christy Chong accused her of being a bully.
Palm Coast Honors Curtis Gray’s Memory and Proclaims Rise Above the Violence Day
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday issued a proclamation remembering Curtis Gray, the 18-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student gunned down in a dispute at a local strip mall on April 13, 2019, and proclaimed the date Rise Above the Violence Day.