Former principal apologizes in video
‘I am not a Holocaust denier,’ Latson says about remarks in past
The embattled former principal who made controversial comments about the Holocaust posted an apology for his remarks on YouTube.
The fate of William Latson, the former principal at Spanish River High in Boca Raton, is in limbo until Nov. 2, when Palm Beach County’s School Board will make their final decision. His apology comes more than a year after he was removed in July 2019.
Last week, the Palm Beach County School Board delayed a vote on whether to reinstate Latson so they could sort through hours of recorded comments from all over the world.
Latson’s video is the latest development in a saga that has drawn international attention and led to Latson’s reassignment, termination, appeal, rehiring and proposed termination again.
In the video, Latson said he delivered his apology to the school board on Oct. 20. He recorded the apology so others could hear it at the board meeting on Oct. 21, he said.
But his apology was not played then.
“Unfortunately due to procedural rules, my apology was not heard at the board meeting,” he said in the video. “Therefore I am making this video so it can be heard now.”
He also said that his attorney made a statement on his behalf without his knowledge after the school board voted to reinstate him on Oct. 7, and he wanted to set the record straight and issue his “sincere statement” himself.
Latson said he was wrong to
tell a parent in 2018 that he could not state that the Holocaust was a “factual event” fact because of his position as an employee of the Palm Beach County School District.
“I can’t say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee,” he wrote in the email.
In the video, he apologized to the Palm Beach County community; the school board; the school administration; the parents, students, and teachers of Palm Beach County; the Jewish community, and everyone offended or hurt by his mistake, he said.
“I am not a Holocaust denier,” he said in the video. “I have never been a Holocaust denier. I am sorry that my comments caused people to think that.”
Latson went on to praise the public school system’s “exemplary” Holocaust education curriculum, which Latson said he ensured was taught to each and every student while he was the principal at Spanish River High.
“I am sorry that my comments caused people to question that,” he said.
When Latson originally wrote the controversial remarks in an email exchange with a concerned parent, he told her then that he can’t force students to learn about the Holocaust.
“I work to expose students to certain things but not all parents want their students exposed so they will not be and I can’t force that issue,” he wrote in the email in 2018.
In the email, Latson said he treated the teaching of slavery the same way.
In his apology, Latson acknowledged that some thought the apology was long overdue.
“Some may say this apology comes too late,” he said in the video. “But I believe it’s never too late to do the right thing. The right thing for me to do is to make this sincere apology for the trouble my ill-considered remarks caused, and express gratitude to Judge Robert Cohen for putting aside public and political pressures to follow the law.”
The judge decided the district should have given Latson a reprimand or reassigned him to another job instead of firing him.
Latson said he hopes the school board will accept his apology and “that it will also follow the law,” he said. He asked board members to let his reinstatement stand, and to allow his assignment to the assessment department, which he said the board had previously approved.
Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Donald Fennoy said he plans to commission an independent investigation into what went wrong. He recommended Latson be moved to the district’s transportation department.
But school board policy says no vote can happen until board members listen to all public comments before taking action. About 1,300 voice mails have arrived. School Board members agreed to listen to the comments — many from Holocaust survivors and their family members — at home.
They’ll also be available on the district’s website.
“I assure everyone that I intend to serve faithfully and honorably to advance the Palm Beach County Public School mission,” he said.
Latson encouraged people to share their thoughts with the school board, and said he welcomes comments about his apology. He shared the number to call for public comment and encouraged those who would submit their thoughts to do so before the deadline on Friday.
“Whether you think I should be allowed to continue the career I love or not, your opinion will be heard,” he said. “Thank you for taking the time to listen to my apology.”