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Flagler County School Board

Ms. Cheryl: Why I Am Leaving the Flagler Youth Orchestra

July 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 93 Comments

Ms. Cheryl, center, in the 50th and last concert of the Flagler Youth Orchestra at the Flagler Auditorium in May. (© FlaglerLive)

“As of today I am no longer the director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra,” writes Cheryl Tristam, ending an 18-year relationship with the school district program she led since 2005. “It isn’t what I wanted to do. But the conduct of some of our school board members toward me personally and toward the program leaves me no choice.”

Shocking Disparities in Flagler’s Handling of 3 Different Assaults by Disabled Students Against School Staff

June 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 44 Comments

Brendan Depa in court earlier this month, when his competency to stand trial was in question. A judge cleared him for trial. (© FlaglerLive)

Violent assaults against school staff involving profoundly disabled students, never before reported in detail until today–and not caught on surveillance video–point to startling if not shocking disparities in how cases may be handled, compared to that of Brendan Depa at Matanzas High School, depending on the attention they garner.

Flagler Schools’ Bob Nocella Dies at 72

June 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Bob Nocella. (Flagler schools.)

Flagler Schools mourns the loss of educator and coach Robert A. “Bob” Nocella who passed away June 25, 2023. He was 72.

Obama-Era Plan Allows Flagler Schools to Provide Free Lunches For All Students Starting in August

June 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

It's going to get busy. (© FlaglerLive)

In what may be a game-changer for many food-insecure families, an Obama-era child-nutrition program expanding under Biden will allow Flagler County Schools to provide free lunches in addition to the existing free breakfasts to all students, regardless of income, year-round at all nine traditional public schools starting on Aug. 10, when classes resume.

Brendan Depa’s Mother Tells Her Son’s Story

June 26, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 204 Comments

Brendan Depa with his maternal grandmother, Nikki Lemen. (Depa family)

Brendan Depa, a 17-year-old severely autistic student, attacked his paraprofessional, Joan Naydich, at Matanzas High School in February, and faces a first degree felony charge as an adult. His mother, Leanne Depa, speaks for the first time, detailing Brendan’s personal and medical history and his almost intractable challenges that pre-dated the horrific incident.

Investigation of Ex-Wadsworth Principal Peacock Finds ‘Pattern of Misrepresenting Facts and Disregard Truth’

June 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Paul Peacock. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools video)

An independent investigation found former Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock in violation of the district’s policy forbidding bullying and harassment and its ethics policy, as well as in violation of various sections of the state’s Principles of Professional Conduct and the Florida Educational Leadership Standards.

Day Fees Waived All Weekend at Belle Terre Swim Club in Push For New Members

June 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

A free weekend at Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club. (© FlaglerLive)

The Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club is hosting its summer open house weekend Saturday and Sunday, June 24-25, waiving its daily admission fees to all pool users and offering free food as the School Board continues to wrangle over how to make the club a viable operation, at least through next year.

Flagler School Board Rejects Arming Employees in 3-2 Vote, Citing Too Many Doubts for Now

June 20, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff's deputies will still be the only armed individuals on Flagler school campuses as the school board this evening rejected opening the door to non-professionals. (© FlaglerLive).

The Flagler County School Board this evening rejected on a 3-2 vote a proposal to arm some school employees on the unfounded assumption that it would improve security. The vote ends a year-long discussion about the so-called “guardian program,” as a majority of board members still had too many questions, doubts, and lacking buy-in from school staff.

Flagler School Board Cocks Its Next Folly: Arming Employees

June 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 56 Comments

arming employees

Next Tuesday, the Flagler County School Board will vote on whether to arm some school employees. The board will vote yes, on zero evidence and without asking any of the right questions, because as is becoming routine with this board, when it is offered a chance between right and wrong, it chooses wrong.

Indian Trails Middle School Teacher Suing District Has a New Attorney, and Seeks Trial

June 16, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

JaWanda Dove, now a dean at Rymfire Elementary, seen here in an image from a brochure by the African American Entrepreneurs Club, where she was a guest speaker in 2018.

Indian Trails Middle School teacher JaWanda Dove’s employment discrimination case against the Flagler County school district is back on track toward a trial date as both sides also continue to seek an out-of-court settlement.

Wadsworth Elementary’s Paul Peacock Is Told He’s Done in Flagler Schools; New Principal To Be Named Later

June 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Paul peacock when he was principal at Indian Trails Middle School. (Flagler Schools)

Paul Peacock, the embattled principal of Wadsworth Elementary school who worked with school board members to fire Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt, was told this morning that his services will no longer be needed in Flagler County schools. It was a firing in all but name.

Why Will Furry Is Demolishing the Flagler Youth Orchestra

June 6, 2023 | Pierre Tristam | 56 Comments

Flagler County School Board member Will Furry’s posturing about the Flagler Youth Orchestra has nothing to do with the FYO, of which he knows nothing and has no interest. It has to do with FYO’s director’s last name–Tristam–and Furry’s willingness to sacrifice a star district program over his vindictiveness for FlaglerLive.

At FPC, Misplaced ‘Man Cave’ Culture and Improprieties Cause Demise of Girls’ Basketball Coach

June 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Former Flagler Palm Coast High School Girls Basketball Coach Anthony Wagner received a written reprimand and is no longer the team's coach. (© FlaglerLive)

A Flagler County school district investigation of now-former Flagler Palm Coast high School basketball coach Anthony Wagner found that he had committed various improprieties and acted unprofessionally, resulting in his second written reprimand and his removal from that role. He is also not being recommended for reappointment as a teacher.

As Investigation of Principal Paul Peacock Nears Conclusion, His Absence from Reappointment List Draws Speculation

May 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Paul Peacock. (© FlaglerLive)

As an independent investigation into employee complaints against Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock concluded, Peacock’s name was absent from the list of administrators to be reappointed next year, raising speculation about his fate. The school board attorney said the list is not complete.

Upside of Unrequited Survives Book Ban at FPC, But 57% of Challenged Titles Were Removed From Flagler Schools This Year

May 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The Upsiude of Unrequited got some love from a Flagler Palm Coast High School challenge-review committee. (© FlaglerLive)

A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee of faculty and residents voted 7-0 to keep Becky Albertalli’s The Upside of Unrequited on high school library shelves. It was the last challenge of the year by just three individuals, who had filed 44 challenges to 22 titles, succeeding in having 12 of them removed.

He Was Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender BS.” He Was Arrested. And Emboldened.

May 26, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

A screen shot from a recent meeting of the Winston Salem/Forsyth County School Board.

A parent had grievances to air about library books “trying to convert kids to gay,” and about mask and vaccine mandates. So he joined an activist group and headed to a school board meeting. This story explores how school board meetings across the country are fomenting conflicts and controversies that have led to violence and arrests.

On Flagler Schools’ Ban List: The Upside of Unrequited, a Review and a Recommendation

May 24, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The Upside of Unrequited is Becky Albertalli's second novel. ban list

Becky Albertalli’s “The Upside of Unrequited,” about a fat girl’s desperate quest for a date after 26 unrequited crushes, is one of 22 titles on Flagler’s ban list, and the last to be considered by a school-based committee at FPC on Thursday.

School Board’s Sally Hunt Feels Unsafe in Workshops and Asks for Permanent Deputy Security

May 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

Sally Hunt at the May 2 workshop of the school board listened to the man who, like eight or nine others, implored the board to keep the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club open to the public. That speaker singled out Hunt, asking for her supporting vote. Hunt later objected to being singled out as a swing vote. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

Without explaining why, and to her colleagues’ surprise, Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt told the board she feels unsafe in workshop settings on the third floor of the Government Services Building, and has requested the posting of a deputy there, which would cost the district at least $2,600 a year.

LaShakia Moore Is Flagler Schools’ Interim Superintendent. Why Would She Want Permanent Post?

May 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Flagler County schools' Lashakia Moore in her office some months ago. She will be the district's interim superintendent starting July 1, in a different office. (© FlaglerLive)

The question LaShakia Moore isn’t yet answering is whether she will apply for the permanent position, which the board hopes to fill by Jan. 1. She enjoys district and community support and respect. Yet the more valid question, given this school board’s volatility, may be: why would Moore want to be the permanent superintendent?

3-2 Vote to Keep Belle Terre Swim Club Open Is Only One More Uncertain Reprieve for Troubled Facility

May 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club is again facing deficits. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board’s 3-2 vote Tuesday to keep the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club open to the public is only one more extension of uncertain length. The board has yet to decide how long it will keep it open, and on what terms, in essence leaving fundamental questions that have bedeviled the club for years unanswered.

A Different ‘Battle of the Books’ Cheers Competing Students at Rymfire Elementary

May 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Members of the teams that placed first, second and third were invited to the stage at the end of the Battle of the Books to accept their gift bags--every participant got a goodie bag--and gift cards. (© FlaglerLive)

At Rymfire Elementary this morning, it was a very different “Battle of the Books” from the kind that’s been crumpling Flagler County’s school libraries for the last couple of years: this battle was all about the love and joy of reading, as 80 students competed to match blind quotes with any of the 15 books they’d read this year.

Indian Trails Teacher JaWanda Dove Loses Her Attorney Over Refusal to Settle Discrimination Suit Against District

May 11, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

JaWanda Dove, now a dean at Rymfire Elementary, seen here in an image from a brochure by the African American Entrepreneurs Club, where she was a guest speaker in 2018.

Almost three years after filing an employment discrimination suit against Flagler County schools, and a few settlement offers that even her attorney implored her to accept, Indian Trails Middle School teacher JaWanda Dove may now head for trial representing herself, as her own attorney asked the court to be relieved of representing her.

FPC Removes 2 Books Under Challenge Without Review, Abruptly Cancelling 2 Committee Meetings

May 11, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 47 Comments

The April 17 joint meeting of two book review committees, from Matanzas High School and Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the last to convene. That one, for Ellen Hopkins's Crank, was attended by School Board member Will Furry. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County’s three book-banners are getting their way the easier way: the books they’re challenging are now getting removed without committee review, even though such a process is set out in district policy. Twice in the last three weeks, Flagler Palm Coast High School abruptly cancelled scheduled challenge-review committee meetings at the last minute, “weeding” the books instead.

Wadsworth Principal Paul Peacock Ordered on Leave Over Employee Complaints as District Hires Investigator

May 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Paul peacock, with Chris Tincher, Wadsworth Elementary's assistant principal, at right, in a recent appearance before the school board. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

Wadsworth Elementary School Principal Paul Peacock has been placed on administrative leave with pay and barred from all district campuses or from contact with any employees pending the resolution of an independent investigation stemming from several employee complaints about Peacock, internal documents show and school officials say.

On Flagler’s Ban List: Elana K. Arnold’s What Girls Are Made Of, a Review and a Recommendation

May 9, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

What Girls Are Made Of, a 2017 National Book Award finalist, is on Flagler County schools' list of books a trio of residents want banned. (Carolrhoda Lab)

“What Girls Are Made Of,” Elana K. Arnold’s deconstruction of a 16-year-old girl’s being and nothingness, is one of 22 titles three Flagler County residents want banned from high school libraries. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee takes up the challenge on Thursday.

Later Start Time for Middle and High School Students in Flagler Means Earlier Start for Younger Ones

May 8, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Starting school later for middle and high school students means starting earlier for elementary school students. The Flagler County school district isn't pleased with that choice. (© FlaglerLive)

A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would ban school start times before 8:30 a.m. for high schools  and 8 a.m. for middle schools, starting in the 2026-27 school year. The Flagler County School Board had been reconsidering its own start times–but in the other direction. Now, it may be faced with making tough choices regarding elementary-school start times, which would go from latest to earliest starting times in the county. 

Advertising in Schools
Flagler County School Policy 904

May 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Flagler County School District policy on advertising in schools, policy 904: full text.

Bill Banning Books During Challenges and Banning Preferred Pronouns Ready for DeSantis Signature

May 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, sponsored a controversial education bill that passed Wednesday and is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Colin Hackley/File

The bill restricts the way teachers and students can use their preferred pronouns in schools, expands last year’s “don’t say gay” prohibitions to eighth grade, and makes banning books and instructional materials easier, with simpler forms and a requirement that challenged materials to be removed from schools within five days of the objection, until the challenge is resolved.

Flagler School Board Plans to Appoint LaShakia Moore Interim Superintendent at Least Until January

May 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Lashakia Moore is almost certain to be Flagler County Schools' interim superintendent from July 1 until next January. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County School Board is planning to appoint LaShakia Moore its interim superintendent from July 1 to at least the beginning of January. The approach has the support of the board and relieves pressure on the board to find a superintendent at a time when nearly a dozen districts are looking to make similar appointments.

Top of the World: FPC’s Per Berg Takes IB Students to Uruguay and Argentina in Pre-Exam Immersion

April 28, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The group at the base of the 115-foot concrete cross atop Pan de Azucar. (Per Berg)

The IB is highly prized by college admission panels. It is also the most rigorous, demanding program of study in high school. Going on what looks like a vacation right before the exam might seem counterintuitive. But it is right in line with the IB’s philosophy–and it prepares the students for their exams better than sitting behind a desk, as Spanish teacher and coach Per Berg’s experience through a dozen trips with FPC students has shown.

In Florida, We Are All Child Abusers Now

April 23, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 60 Comments

Illegal, even in the shadow of a courthouse. (© FlaglerLive)

The Florida Legislature is legalizing a Jim Crow-like system of punishing, demonizing and denying the existence of LGBTQ children. Few sessions of the Florida Legislature provided the legal framework for as much state-sponsored and citizen-empowered terrorism against children as this one.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Elana K. Arnold’s Damsel, a Review and a Recommendation

April 21, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

damsel book ban florida

Elana K. Arnold’s “Damsel” is among the 22 books that a trio of individuals have sought to ban from high school library shelves in Flagler County. Here’s an unexpected recommendation by FlaglerLive’s reviewers to ban the book.

Coming YMCA Could Give Belle Terre Club a Few Years’ Reprieve. 2 School Board Members Won’t Hear of It.

April 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

The pool at Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club. (© FlaglerLive)

After yet another round of hardened, inconclusive debate over the fate of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club during the school board’s workshop on Tuesday, the board agreed to vote on the matter one way or the other at its May 16 meeting. But this time a new element is in play, with the very strong possibility of a YMCA coming to town in a few years.

‘Don’t Say Gay’ Extended to 12th Grade in New Board of Education Rule, With Vague Exceptions

April 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

dont say gay federal ruling

Teachers shall not “intentionally provide” instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in fourth through 12th grades. Teachers could face suspension or revocation of their educator certificates for violations of the rule.

Furry and Chong, Who’d Slandered Opponents During Campaign, Seek to ‘Censure’ School Board Chair Cheryl Massaro. They Fail.

April 19, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Will Furry and Christy Chong, memories of their own recent behavior apparently short-circuited, voted to censure School Board Chair Cheryl Massaro Tuesday evening. They did not get a majority. (© FlaglerLive)

An attempt by School Board members Will Furry and Christy Chong to censure Cheryl Massaro failed, 3-2, Tuesday evening. The motion and the discussion surrounding it had elements of the surreal, as most school board meetings now do. Massaro’s comments were cutting, but nowhere near the slanders and lies Chong and Furry had peddled about board members and candidates during their campaign a few months ago.

Crank, Novel of Addiction, Survives Ban at FPC and Matanzas for Now in Unanimous Vote

April 18, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A joint committee of Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High School representatives voted 9-0 to keep Ellen Hopkins's "Crank" on school library shelves, rebuffing a challenge. But the decision may be appealed. (© FlaglerLive)

Two committees meeting jointly to review a challenge to Ellen Hopkins’s “Crank,” a novel tracing the spiral of a 17-year-old high school girl into drug addiction, voted unanimously Monday afternoon to keep the book on high school library shelves. But the superintendent’s recent decision to ban a book despite three unanimous votes to keep it left a chill in the committees’ decisions on Monday.

Challenged in Flagler Schools: Ellen Hopkins’s Crank, a Review and a Recommendation

April 17, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Another one on the ban list: Ellen Hopkins's "Crank," the first in a trilogy by Hopkins, fictionalizing her daughter's drug addiction.

Crank is the first book by Ellen Hopkins, a very popular young adult novelist, and the first in an autobiographical trilogy centered on her daughter’s crystal meth addiction. It is among the 22 books a trio of Flagler County residents want banned. A joint committee of Matanzas and FPC faculty take on the challenge this afternoon.

Marketing Lab Opens at Matanzas High School, Giving Classroom a Real-World Vibe of Office Energy

April 13, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

A segment of the Marketing Lab at Matanzas High School, moments before today's ribbon-cutting. (© FlaglerLive)

Matanzas High School’s Marketing Lab is the newest addition to its marketing and finance program, a hands-on immersive experience for students to get the full workplace experience from conceiving products to pitching their marketability to developing advertising campaigns to selling. Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and Matanzas Principal Kristin Bozeman inaugurated the lab today.

Behind Mittelstadt’s Firing: ‘An Out of the Closet Lesbian’ Who Refuses to Kiss Chamber’s Ring

April 10, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 58 Comments

Flagler County School Board members Sally Hunt, left, Will Furry and Christy Chong. (© FlaglerLive)

The bigoted, vengeful firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt will deeply stain Flagler County’s reputation for business or great schools: Neither the three school board members nor the chamber of commerce who orchestrated the ouster could find a single reason to fire her, fabrications aside. Malevolence was enough.

First Book Bans. Now School Libraries: Sally Hunt Thinks Media Centers Could Be Shrunk.

April 7, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 44 Comments

A section of the media center at Rymfire Elementary, which SchoolBoard member Sally Hunt thinks is "huge" and could be used for other purposes. But it already is. No students appear in the picture for student privacy. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt thinks some school libraries may be too large and under-used. She wants to rethink library spaces and media specialists’ roles, and thinks the public library could be the repository of books unwanted on school campuses.

Palm Coast Chamber’s Disinformation on Student Performance and Superintendent Draws Sharp Rebukes

April 6, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

flagler palm coast chamber of commerce education coup

Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt and School Board Vice Chair Colleen Conklin both issued sharply worded rebukes to rankly misinforming statements by the Flagler Palm Coast Chamber of Commerce regarding Mittelstadt’s performance in the last three years. A 3-2 majority of the school board fired Mittelstadt Tuesday, as of June 30.

Chong, Furry and Hunt in 3-2 Majority Not to Renew Superintendent Mittelstadt’s Contract

April 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 81 Comments

Rebuffing an outpouring of public support for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt at this evening’s special meeting, the Flagler County School Board voted 3-2 not to renew her contract when it expires in June.

Focusing on Student Use, Flagler School Board Nears Closer to Ending Belle Terre Swim Club’s Memberships

April 4, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The Flagler County School Board's Will Furry is proposing to end the use of the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club as a public-oriented club, and close its gym, while refocusing it toward student use and leasing it to some public use. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

After a decade of hesitancy and inaction, the Flagler County School Board is wading closer to turning the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club into a student-focused facility, removing its use as a membership driven club, while still leaving the door open to public use on a leasing basis.

The Cabal Against Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt

April 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

cathy mittelstadt

Flagler County Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt is the target of a cabal made up of a clique who claim to speak for a broader mass than they do, and who do so on the flimsiest pretexts and, whispering campaign aside, nonexistent evidence. Yet Tuesday evening, Mittelstadt may well be fired, with no justification.

On Eve of Decision, School Board Evaluations Rate Superintendent On Higher End of ‘Satisfactory’

April 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt. (© FlaglerLive)

The five Flagler County School Board members’ combined evaluation scores for Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt average 3.69 points out of a possible 5, rating her “Acceptable/Satisfactory” as the board heads into Tuesday’s special meeting to decide whether to renew her contract, and if so, how.

‘Promises Made and Kept’: ESE Parent Advisory Council Voices Unanimous Support for Superintendent

April 3, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

It's been working to students' advantage. (Aaron Burden on Unsplash)

The parent-members of Flagler Schools’ ESE Parent Advisory Council (or EPAC) voted unanimously in support of the renewal or extension of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract, issuing a letter outlining the superintendent’s achievements and cautioning against yet more instability.

I Served on Flagler’s School District Book Review Committee, Only to Be Silenced

April 2, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

nowhere girls amy reed banned in flagler schools

One of 14 members appointed by the Flagler school administration to a district-level committee to review the challenge to Amy Reed’s “The Nowhere Girls” describes the experience of being part of a 14-0 decision to retain the book, only to be overruled by the superintendent, who banned the book.

Peacock Sent Sally Hunt Script on Firing Superintendent Even as She Claimed ‘Due Diligence’

March 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

The text showing the image of the script on how to fire the superintendent that Paul Peacock, the principal at Wadsworth Elementary, sent School Board member Sally Hunt during a workshop on Feb. 22. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt and Wadsworth Elementary Principal Paul Peacock were orchestrating the firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt as far back as February 22, a text Peacock sent Hunt two hours before a school board meeting shows. All along, Hunt claimed she was doing her “due diligence,” and that she had not made up her mind.

In a First at Flagler School Board, a Parent Pushing Book Bans Justifies Hitler’s Book-Burning

March 31, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

Allison Lauderdale downplayed book-burning in Nazi Germany in an appearance before the Flagler County School Board on Tuesday. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler Schools TV)

A parent falsely claimed Hitler’s book burnings only targeted sexually deviant books, as if to suggest the same should be done in Flagler. She was not corrected, though school board members on occasion have devoted parts of their comments to correct the record, especially when the board’s chamber is abused to peddle egregious, insulting or outright false statements.

School Committee Votes 6-0 to Keep Looking For Alaska as Superintendent Bans Nowhere Girls

March 30, 2023 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

John Green's "Looking for Alaska" hits close to the heart: a committee member referred to a passage from the book during today's review at Matanzas High School. (© FlaglerLive)

John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” skated this afternoon to a Matanzas High School review committee’s 6-0 vote for retention, rebuffing a challenge to the book.  It was the second book decision in a day in the Flagler district, the third in a week, counting Tuesday’s vote by the school board to retain Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.”

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