The Flagler County Commission this evening is set to elect a new chairman, with Joe Mullins in line for the job, unless fellow-commissioners think better than to choose a bigot to represent them and the county. The School Board elects a chair Tuesday evening, with its own dilemmas.
Schools
Cheryl Massaro Rebukes Fellow School Board Member Woolbright Over ‘Rogue’ Attacks on Books and Superintendent
In a statement issued Sunday night, School Board member Cheryl Massaro said fellow-Board member Jill Woolbright “crossed the line when she filed a criminal complaint against the Flagler Schools’ Superintendent and Attorney” over Woolbright’s attempt to ban books. Massaro sharply rebuked the attempted censorship of books and said Woolbright doesn’t speak for the board.
The Live Interview: Author George M. Johnson Speaks to Those Who Want Book Banned From Flagler Schools
George M. Johnson, author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue, one of the books School Board member Jill Woolbright calls a “crime” to have in schools and wants banned, speaks to FlaglerLive about frequent experiences with “the purity brigade,” differences between porn and sex, the orchestration behind current book bans and what Johnson would tell the district committee reviewing the book.
The Flagler School Board’s Shameless War on Equity
The Flagler school board doesn’t believe in equality anymore. The administration, out of fear and misplaced pragmatism, is abandoning the word “equity” and replacing it with a bromide of a euphemism–“student success”–in appeasement of a faction led by School Board members Jill Woolbright and Janet McDonald, the same board members targeting books and instructional materials with anti-racism and other minority-oriented themes.
Bowing to Vague Pressures, Flagler County School Board Removes ‘Equity’ From Its Goals’ Language
In a move that left one school board member stunned and others agreeing to a change that seemed almost entirely the result of vague, polemical attacks on the word on social media and in charged but limited national discussions, the Flagler County School Board on Tuesday agreed to drop the word “equity” from its goals. The word will be replaced with “student success.”
Isolation and Beyond in Sartre’s ‘No Exit’ by Stetson University Theatre Arts
Stetson University Theatre Arts presents Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit,” a one-act philosophical drama that examines morality, identity and human connection. Directed by Stetson Theatre Arts senior Shay Figueroa, the production runs Nov. 18-21 at Stetson’s Second Stage Theatre in the Museum of Art – DeLand.
Vague and Controversial Parents’ Bill of Rights Will Get Renewed Focus in Special Session of Legislature Next Week
The Parents’ Bill of Rights, sponsored by State Rep. Erin Grall in the 2021 legislative session, was criticized for its vague language and unclear boundaries. But it became a clarion call for parent power as local school boards developed Covid policies impacting students, and a mask mandate debacle that pitted the executive branch against local school boards.
Jill Woolbright Wants 4 Books Banned Over Anti-Racism, LGBTQ, Police Violence and Rape Themes; District Removes Them Pending Review
Copycatting a tactic developing across the country and targeting the same books, Flagler County School Board member Jill Woolbright wants four books removed. The books, award winners and critically acclaimed, deal with LGBTQ themes, anti-racism, police shootings, and the trauma of rape. Three are by Black authors.
School Surveillance of Students Through Laptops May Be Doing More Harm Than Good
Student surveillance is taking place – at taxpayer expense – in cities and school communities throughout the United States. In one large district, three-quarters of incidents reported – that is, cases where the system flagged students’ online activity – took place outside school hours.
Five Florida School Boards Move Quickly to Appeal Decision Supporting State Ban on Mask Mandates
The filing came shortly after Administrative Law Judge Brian Newman rejected a challenge to a Sept. 22 emergency rule issued by the Department of Health. That rule, at least in part, carried out a July 30 executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis that sought to prevent school mask mandates.
FPC Team Wins Inaugural UNF MedNexus Innovation Challenge
Twenty-four teams with a total of 86 students submitted applications and their ideas in hopes of joining the competition. The MedNexus Innovation Challenge is a team-based entrepreneurship competition that showcased top regional high school students tasked to pitch their solutions to Florida’s evolving healthcare needs.
2 Flagler School Board Members Object to Black Lives Matter Language and a ‘Hate Group’ Trolls District’s Library Books
The Flagler County School Board is not banning books–yet. But two board members–Jill Woolbright and Janet McDonald–are on the warpath, playing up isolated complaints about materials they find objectional on ideological grounds and mirroring similar attempts in other districts where a few voices have capitalized on largely manufactured controversies. The board members’ moves parallel a national extremist organization’s inquiry in Flagler and other Florida counties about the district’s book holdings, especially targeting racially-conscious and LGBTQ-themed books.
Nor’Easter’s Rain and Flooding Potential Forces Moving Matanzas-FPC Potato Bowl to Tonight
With a Nor’easter expected to bring between 1 and 3 inches of rain to the region starting Friday morning, the athletic departments at Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High School agreed to move the annual potato bowl from Friday to tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Matanzas’s Pirates Stadium.
35% Short of Needed Bus Drivers, School District Agrees to $15/hr Pay, Plus Incentive, as Part of Raises for All Service Employees
Members of the Flagler Educational Support Professional Association, the union that represents Flagler schools’ 800-some service employees, are voting today on what may amount to the largest pay increase in nearly 20 years, though bus drivers and paraprofessionals will see larger increases than all others.
Learning Is for Commie-Pinko Wokesters and We Don’t Need Any of It Around Here
Praise Jesus, here in Florida our governor has decreed that there will be no “The 1619 Project,” and none of that Critical Race Theory making our sweet white children hate themselves, their mamas and daddies, and their great-great-grandparents, who happened to belong to the Ku Klux Klan.
Turf Battle Over Picnic Tables at FPC Devolves into Threats of a Shooting and Felony Arrest of 15 Year Old Student
An argument over a picnic table between two groups of students at Flagler Palm Coast High School on Tuesday allegedly led one of the students to threaten to shoot another at given place after school. The student was arrested.
County Commission Again Delays Decision on School Impact Fees As Disputed Numbers Strain Trust on Both Sides
The Flagler County Commission voted to delay for two months a decision on the school board’s request to double its impact fees following a two-and-a-half hour meeting Tuesday evening. The county is not trusting the school board’s numbers, and the school board is frustrated over the county’s resistance to what the district considers an emergency request.
Covid’s Threat to the Already Shaky Status of Arts Education in Schools
In two studies from 2007 to 2008, schools indicated that they had cut an average of 145 minutes per week across the nontested subjects, lunch and recess. Where visual art and music were cut back, it was for an average of 57 minutes per week.
Mandates Decline as Appeals Court Signals Alachua and Duval ‘Defiance’ on Masks Violates Law
A seven-page order said two school districts have been “remarkably open in their defiance” of the state over masking. Meanwhile, as Covid cases go down, several school districts that had been strict about mask mandates are now loosening their policies.
A Divided Flagler Beach Commission Rejects Church’s Proposal to Open a Small Christian School Near Center of Town
In an unusual land-use decision that bowed to public concerns over firearms and economic activity, the Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday rejected a church’s request to run a non-traditional parochial one-room school on South 6th Street, between South Central and South Daytona avenues.
School Officials and Sheriff’s Deputies Again Forced to Respond to Generic Attempt to Disrupt the Day at FPC
A local school–this time, Flagler Palm Coast High School–was again the target of a vague threat of violence, disseminated on social media and mirroring similar, low- to no-credibility threats circulating in other parts of the country.
A Child at Rymfire Elementary Makes False Report of a Shooting, 7 Weeks After Identical Incident There
Rymfire was again locked down early this afternoon when authorities got a call from a child reporting the same claim as seven weeks ago: a shooting in a classroom–the same classroom that had been the supposed location of the shooting in early September.
On Flagler School Board, Even Procedures Are Weaponized as Aftershocks of Bitter Meetings Still Rankle
What would under most circumstances been a five-minute discussion, if that, turned into a rehash of prosecutorial accusations, recriminations and seemingly vain explanations that underscored how far board members now diverge from each other, whether on matters of fact or perception.
Time to Stop Worrying About Children’s Screen Time? Not So Fast.
We still need to be wary of health consequences, despite the absence of strong links between screen time and children’s health. The researchers–the study involved almost 12,000 nine-to-ten-year-olds from 24 diverse sites across the United States–suggested screen time was not a direct cause of depression or anxiety and was linked to improved peer relations, but their findings came with caveats.
Serious as a Heart Attack: For FPC and Matanzas High School Athletes, Voluntary ECG Screenings May Become Mandatory
In an effort to stem heart attacks in young athletes–about 3 percent of athletes are at risk–AdventHealth is sponsoring the first free ECG screening for local high school athletes next week, and will ask the Flagler County School Board to make the screenings mandatory by next year. There are some 900 athletes participating in dozens of sports in the two high schools.
Marion Gavins Jr., Who Murdered FPC’s Curtis Gray, 18, Is Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison in Plea
Marion Leo Gavins Jr., 20, pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder of Curtis Gray, 18, in April 2019 outside a smoke shop in Palm Coast, a killing that shook the Flagler Palm Coast High and Matanzas High communities and that led his mother to create an enduring non-profit in Gray’s name.
Stetson University Celebrates the Holiday Season with Four Christmas Candlelight Concerts
The joy and magic of the holiday season comes alive during Stetson University School of Music’s four Christmas Candlelight concerts at historic Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall on campus.
MedNexus in Palm Coast: ‘It’s Really About 6 Hands,’ Szymanski Says of Medical-Education Hub in Town Center
David Szymanski, the CEO of the University of Florida’s MedNexus–the emerging medical education innovator with a foothold in Palm Coast–was the keynote speaker at Flagler Tiger Bay’s monthly lunch series today, outlining what Palm Coast can expect of the initiative in Town Center.
6 School Boards’ Challenge to State Ban on Mask Mandates Goes Forward
The decision by Judge Brian Newman came a day before a hearing is scheduled to start in the challenge filed by the school boards in Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Duval, Alachua and Leon counties.
State School Board Is About to Revamp Civic Education, with Emphasis on ‘Patriotism’
Making changes that inject patriotism into the curriculum was a priority of top Republican lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis during the legislative session that ended April 30. One rule would require students to understand America’s founding documents. A separate part of the proposal focuses on “upright citizens.”
When Students Attack Teachers
Interviews with 50 teachers from urban and suburban high schools who were threatened or attacked by a student suggest that in light of the constant threat of violence against schoolteachers, the adequacy of current security measures – or lack thereof – are ripe for review.
Flagler’s 1st Domestic Violence Conference Confronts Myths and Silences Often Complicit With Abusers
Panels at the conference, called Rise Up 2021, was organized by Daytona State College and the Flagler County Domestic Violence Task Force, delved into religious organizations’ silence toward or complicit enabling of domestic violence, the mechanics of stalking, trauma on children and other prevalent but rarely discussed fallout from a widespread problem.
Covid’s Impact on Students’ Mental Health Termed ‘Widespread and Deeply Concerning’
The turbulent and stressful Covid-19 crisis has impacted mental health issues, including instances of suicidal thoughts among students who have had to deal with the trauma of trying to learn during the pandemic.
State Attorney Drops Felony Charge Against Mom in Indian Trails Incident With Boys But Files Misdemeanor Battery
Ruffin, 31, of Palm Coast’s R-Section, drew as much mainstream and social media attention a month ago from an allegation that she had assaulted a juvenile boy as she did from a 15-minute video of herself indignantly countering the charge and describing her role as an instance of instinctive protection of her son, who she said had been targeted by others.
A Buddy Taylor Middle Student Is Arrested for Making Threats to Kill at School, Adding Misogyny to Insults
A 13-year-old student at Buddy Taylor Middle School was charged with two felony counts of making threats to kill after he allegedly threatened his teacher and a classmate at school on Tuesday. It is the second instance of a student arrest for making threats at school since school resumed on Aug. 10, the third involving a child making such threats on or off campus.
U.S. School Boards Association Asks Biden for Better Security at Meetings. Florida Association Says Count Us Out.
The Florida School Boards Association is refusing to pay membership dues to the National School Boards Association after the Washington, D.C.-based organization wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration that the country’s “public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat.”
4 Months Late, Last in Nation, Florida Submits Plan to Feds on How It’ll Spend $2.3 Billion in School Covid Relief Funds
Back in March, the Biden administration announced that $122 billion dollars nationwide was available for schools from the American Rescue Plan act, with two thirds of the money immediately available to states and the remaining third contingent on the U.S. Department of Education’s approval of a state plan indicating how the funds will be used.
We’re Losing Our Humanity: Cruelty and Hostility From School Boards to Vaccination Centers
It’s not just Flagler County, and certainly not just at the Flagler school board: The stories of cruel, seemingly irrational and sometimes-violent conflicts over coronavirus regulations across the country have become lingering symptoms of the pandemic as it drags through its second year.
What a Difference an R-Section Makes: New, Limited School Rezoning Proposal Draws Near-Empty Hall
In contrast with two previous “listening sessions” on school rezoning, which drew dozens and reflected sharp if concentrated opposition to the proposal at the time, the session the Flagler school district held at Indian Trails Middle School’s cafeteria Wednesday evening drew at most five people, not counting double that number in district staffers, including Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt.
James Egan Jr., 64, a Flagler School Bus Driver, Is Killed in Motorcycle Wreck on Belle Terre and Ponce de Leon
James Egan Jr., a 64-year-old Palm Coast resident and school bus driver with the Flagler County school district since 2016, was killed in a motorcycle crash at Belle Terre Parkway and Ponce De Leon Drive Tuesday evening.
Scholarships for ‘Career Online High School’ Diploma and Certificate Program Available at Flagler Public Library
Flagler County Public Library is offering the Career Online High School program to adults, 19 and older, who want to earn a career certificate and a high school diploma. Scholarships are funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Federal Judge Refuses to Reconsider Decision Backing DeSantis Ban on Mask Mandates
Rejecting arguments by parents of children with disabilities, a federal judge has refused to reconsider a decision that backed Gov. Ron DeSantis in a battle about student mask requirements in schools.
Nicole Critcher Appointed Principal at Old Kings Elementary
Critcher has been with Flagler Schools for 20 years. She taught at Rymfire Elementary School and Indian Trails K-8 for 13 years. She was an instructional coach at OKES for three years. Following a year with the Teaching and Learning Department before taking the assistant principal position at Matanzas High School.
Angered by Dean’s Office Visit, 12-Year-Old Girl at Buddy Taylor Middle Threatens to Shoot Classmates in Violent Language
A 12-year-old Buddy Taylor Middle School student was arrested and charged with sending written threats to kill, a second-degree felony, after her teacher overheard her say she was going to “shoot up the school” at around 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
Why is the Flagler County Commission Holding New School Construction Hostage?
Pandering to home builders, the Flagler County Commission is rashly scuttling the school district’s plan to double impact fees on new construction for the first time since 2005, even though the county is doubling its own impact fees. It’s an unjustified and hypocritical assault on district planning and future student needs.
Why Charter Schools Are Not as ‘Public’ as They Claim to Be
Charter schools are not as accessible to the public as they are often made out to be. This finding is particularly relevant in light of the fact that charter school enrollment reportedly grew by 7 percent during the pandemic. Here are four examples of how charters bring certain types of students in and push other kinds of students out.
State School Board Will Meet to Police 11 School Districts’ Compliance with Ban on Mask Mandate
The board will meet Oct. 7 and focus on the school districts in Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Sarasota counties, according to a notice published Wednesday in the Florida Administrative Register.
Makenna’s Story: 9-Year-Old Palm Coast Student’s Covid Hospitalization Upends Glib Assumptions
Makenna’s story illustrates the pernicious tenacity of a disease that upends, separates and traumatizes families, cuts off income, creates unspeakable loneliness even for those not hospitalized, and leaves its casualties fuming at a community’s refusal to embrace–beyond thoughts and prayers–the small, effortless measures that could prevent much of the harm to most.
County Goes Over Redistricting Boundaries in ‘Numbers Game’ That Will Barely Affect Voters, Maps or the Elected
The process is formal and obviously important as a reflection of fairness in elections and representation. But at the local level, it is far less consequential than at the state and federal level, especially in counties like Flagler, where school board and county commissioners serve at-large–meaning they are elected by voters across the county, not just by voters in their districts.
How Some Schools Use Weekly Testing to Keep Kids in Class And Covid Out
These measures stand in sharp contrast to the confusion in states, including Florida, where people are still fighting about wearing masks in the classroom and other anti-covid strategies, places where some schools have experienced outbreaks and even teacher deaths.