For Ex-Montessori School Owner Kerri Huckabee, 30 Days in Jail and 3 Years Probation Over Attacks on Neighbors

Kerri Anne Huckabee, the 55-year-old Flagler Beach resident and former Montessori school owner arrested 14 months ago on felony charges after attacking and destroying her neighbors’ surveillance cameras in the culmination of chronic hostility toward them, was sentenced today to 30 days in jail and three years on probation in a plea agreement that reduced the charges and closed the case.

Huckabee, who until last year’s incident had owned a celebrated Montessori in Flagler Beach before moving it to Bunnell and renaming it, pleaded no contest before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols as she appeared in court today with her attorney, G. Kipling Miller. The victim and his wife were not in court, and the plea agreement suggests they gave their consent to the terms.




Huckabee lives on South 23rd Street in Flagler Beach. Starting when next-door neighbors moved in six years ago, her neighbors said in an interview last year, she was not welcoming. They said she would scream at them, call them names and throw things at their surveillance cameras, which she accused them of pointing toward her house and an outdoor shower she kept on the side of the house adjoining her neighbors. She then threw rocks at her neighbors’ house and sprayed the video equipment with water, damaging or destroying it. Flagler Beach police were called there numerous times, and the neighbors felt they could no longer enjoy their property. (See: “Montessori School Owner Kerri Huckabee, 54, Arrested on 3 Felonies in Dispute with Flagler Beach Neighbors” and “State Attorney Files Two Felony Charges Against Kerri Huckabee in Flagler Beach Dispute With Neighbors.”)

“We stipulate factual basis contained within the court file,” her attorney told the court today. Huckabee, who had had called previous articles based on the court file “one-sided,” offered no explanations or statements to the court: such statements are more common during sentencings, when the sentence is in question, but rare at pleas.

Today she pleaded no contest and was adjudicated guilty on two counts of criminal mischief (of $200 to $1,000 each) and one count of resisting arrest without violence, all first-degree misdemeanors, each punishable by up to 60 days in jail. Huckabee will actually serve a combined 30 days in jail on all three–a considerable downgrade from the maximum 18 years in prison she originally faced (though first-time offenders almost never go anywhere near that maximum absent egregious circumstances). She was also sentenced to a year’s probation on each count, to run consecutively, for a total of three years on probation. Probation is not a minor hurdle to clear.




She was required to submit to a mental health evaluation and a substance abuse evaluation and any recommended treatment, and is prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol for the duration of the probation. She was required to complete a 12-hour anger-management class, and pay restitution of $6,205. She is prohibited from any contact with the victim or his wife. Huckabee will have to submit to random urinalyses without warrant. She will have to report to her probation officer and pay monthly probation fees.

The mental health evaluation was completed. She is attending lWellness sessions/meditation/spiritual therapy by choice like I always have” in Gainesville—not as a result of the evaluations, as reported in an earlier version of this article, but by choice, Huckabee wrote in an email.  She has attended her anger-management class. She has paid the full restitution. Huckabee had faced yet another count of criminal mischief. The state–the case was prosecuted by Tara Libby–agreed to drop that count in exchange for Huckabee paying restitution upfront.

The attorney provided specific dates for Huckabee to serve her jail term on weekends.

“Ms. Huckabee I’ll tell you right now, I am not a fan of weekend jail,” the judge told her. “So I am hoping that you don’t ruin this for other people. Because a lot of times what happens is somebody shows up for the first weekend and then they don’t show up again. So I’m going to very specifically require you to attend jail as ordered, and if you don’t, you understand that it’s a violation of probation.” A violation could result in the probation term converting to jail time. “I expect that to go without a hitch. I don’t want to get any calls from the jail that there are late appearances or anything,” the judge added.




Nichols also counseled: “I know that each person’s home is their home, but when things get this ugly, sometimes it’s really wise to think about possible relocation,” she told Huckabee. “That’s obviously your call.”

Huckabee says she has lived in Flagler Beach with her family since 1996. “It has been a delightful place to live and experience life with my family and extended family. I am filled with gratitude for all that we have enjoyed together and truly savor what life has presented to us over the years,” she wrote in an unsolicited letter to FlaglerLive’s editor last week. “We are truly blessed and have appreciated the love and continued support of the Flagler and greater community. It has been a magical dream to have created a Family Centered Alternative Educational experience for so many incredible families over the past 20 years in Flagler County.”

She described “this year and years past” as trying, but has been “constantly reminded daily of how much love and kindness people have in their hearts.” She then punned on her conflict with her neighbors. Referring to people’s kindness, she said “They are the ones that truly know the narrative on the other side of the fence (so to speak!).”




The letter contains no apology for her neighbors, but rather a downplaying of the incident as isolated and out of character, while she continues to hint of accusations about others, reporters included: “I am trying my hardest to respect and forgive others for what is unknown to those who are not involved in our lives,” she wrote. “I have done extensive therapy and meditation for forgiving myself for getting mad at a ‘game’ so to speak (my minutes of anger within a lifetime of peaceful interactions with others).” She does not explain what she means by “game.” Her neighbors had been terrified of her behavior, to the point of fearing to answer the door.

“I am a peaceful person that loves the gifts of family, friends and life!,” Huckabee wrote. “I can imagine that you do want the other side of the story. Honestly, I really wouldn’t want the other party to endure the pain that I have had to work through.” She was especially grateful for her family, who assured her in terms often heard at sentencings, when the family of the accused seeks mercy from a judge: a moment’s misjudgment doesn’t define a life.

Huckabee said her former Montessori school has been “thriving” without her but that she herself “retired from the education world back in January of this year.” She is still quite involved, however: “Although I have left the classroom/school, Montessori and my love of a child-centered education will never leave my heart,” she wrote in her letter. “I still volunteer/consult/help set up Montessori/Montessori based programs in other states and countries! A true gift to pass on the created knowledge of Maria Montessori!”

Miller, her attorney, was seeking permission from the court for her to travel out of the country during her probation. “She is involved in the school system, private school that is,” her attorney said.

“I’m not opposed to her going out of the country. That probably means less of an opportunity for her to have contact with the victim,” Nichols said.

August 2023 was the last time Huckabee was listed as the owner and operator of the Element Montessori School in Bunnell on the Department of Children and Families’ inspection report. The name had changed by the time of the January 2024 inspection.