- April 23, 2024
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One day after its triumph in finally getting a school impact fee approved by the Flagler County commission, the School Board showed there were still some limits to its newfound unified front.
It started with tabling a procedure the board had agreed to in workshop and ended with comments about the district's handling of the March 3 student walkouts.
At the March 22 board meeting, Colleen Conklin declared she would vote against the procedure created to handle complaints against the superintendent or board attorney. The School Board then voted to table the item and send it back to workshop.
The board had agreed in a previous workshop to add the procedure to its operations and procedure manual. But Conklin said that after speaking to community members, she changed her mind about the board hiring a third party to investigate complaints. She noted that Flagler County would be the only School Board in the state to establish such a procedure.
"There are professional organizations, such as the Florida Bar and the Department of Education to do proper investigations."
COLLEEN CONKLIN
"There are professional organizations, such as the Florida Bar and the Department of Education to do proper investigations," Conklin said.
Janet McDonald said the November complaint against attorney Kristy Gavin was a contract issue and should be handled by the board.
The proposed procedure describes a citizen's complaint based on "a violation of a federal or state law, or regulation."
Cheryl Massaro suggested changing the wording to include taking a complaint to the appropriate regulatory group and bringing it back to the next workshop.
"Just because no other school district has it, doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do," she said.
McDonald said she would like the new wording presented at the April 5 workshop since the complaint that prompted the procedure was filed back in November.
The board voted 5-0 to table the item.
Meanwhile, McDonald and Jill Woolbright complained about the district's handling of the Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high school walkouts on March 3. Students were protesting the "Parental Rights in Education bill" that critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
"It's been a very frustrating time since March 3," McDonald said. "I really think we need to tighten up part of our procedures."
She said the students "had no idea what the legislation is about."
McDonald said she witnessed the FPC protest.
"What I observed was very disappointing, watching immature adolescence thinking they made a statement."
JANET MCDONALD
"What I observed was very disappointing, watching immature adolescence thinking they made a statement."
McDonald said sheriff deputies, administrators and instructional staff were forced to "watch kids acting out, not knowing what they were acting out about." She added, "It was for the media, and our media helped promote the wrong image for Flagler Schools."
Woolbright said she was also frustrated because she wasn't getting information about how the district was going to handle the walkout.
"I don't think I ever felt so frustrated," she said. "The frustration is I don't think I can get information. I hear a lot of questions from the public, and it saddens me that I can't answer."
She said board members finally got an email at 4:37 a.m. on March 3.
"At Matanzas, the kids were great," she said. "But I have major safety concerns. I found out about fights (at FPC) from (the public)."
Massaro said high school kids don't "shed their rights at the school doors. They have rights first. We talked about the right to wear a mask or not wear a mask. Students also have rights. This is not the first time this happened in Flagler, and it was handled by professionals."
Conklin spent most of her closing comments praising Education Foundation executive director Joe Rizzo, who died on March 6.
"We lost a giant of an advocate in this county," she said. "He loved Flagler County and he loved our schools, staff, teachers and students. A lot of folks are hurting, but nobody is hurting like his family. He will never be forgotten. His legacy will live on."
As for the protest, Conklin said the bill is seven pages long and only one sentence refers to kindergarten through third grade instruction.
"I guarantee you 50% of these students knew exactly what was in the bill, and they have the right to express their opinion," she said. But, was (the protest) perfect? No.
"But let's stick to this unity theme," she added. "We have more in common than we don't."
