School board to investigate principal
But no dismissal over Holocaust comments
Former Spanish River High School Principal William Latson’s day of reckoning, anxiously awaited by Boca Raton residents and observers across the country who have called for his firing, has been delayed.
The Palm Beach County School District has decided to investigate him further instead of proceeding with a vote that had been scheduled for Wednesday on whether to dismiss him from the school district.
Latson, who had led Spanish River since 2011, was removed from his post on July 8 after he told a parent in an email that he couldn’t say whether the Holocaust was a factual event. His comments created a national outcry about Holocaust denial and insufficient education about the
world’s genocides.
The school district needs to complete its own detailed investigation affording Latson his “due process rights” before potentially removing him from employment, according to a statement from the school district.
The state Department of Education is also conducting an inquiry into the incident. That investigation has to be concluded before the district decides on a potential termination, school
board member Karen Brill said.
Brill said she hopes the inquiries are concluded within the next two weeks.
“The comments were so shocking and egregious,” she said. “It was an embarrassment to the school district. We need to get some closure on this.”
The school board had planned to vote Wednesday on whether to accept a recommendation from Superintendent Donald Fennoy not to renew Latson’s contract.
“However, Mr. Latson’s subsequent actions require
the District to investigate,” the district said in a statement Monday night. “As is the protocol of the School District’s termination process, Mr. Latson will be afforded all of his due process rights. The date of the School Board meeting to consider the Superintendent’s recommendation for termination has not yet been determined, but will be as soon as possible.”
The district’s statement added it would not answer any questions about the investigation. Latson did not return emails seeking comment. The mother who
emailed Latson to discuss the Holocaust curriculum declined to comment through a spokeswoman.
In 2018, Latson told the mother, who was seeking information about Spanish River’s Holocaust curriculum, that he had to remain “politically neutral” — sensitive not only to advocates of Holocaust education but to those who deny the annihilation of 6 million Jews during World War II.
“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,” Latson
wrote to the parent, whose name is redacted from the emails released by the school district.
Latson’s comments enraged many residents of Boca Raton, the home of more than 400 Holocaust survivors and many families whose relatives were killed by the Nazis. South Florida has the second largest number of Holocaust survivors in the U.S., behind New York.
Boca Raton residents are renewing efforts to make sure the Holocaust is taught extensively in the school system, even though it’s been a state requirement since 1994. Former U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, state Rep. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, and state Sen. Kevin Rader, DBoca Raton, plan to meet with Fennoy next week to discuss improving the district’s programs and potential statewide legislation to ensure the mandate is taught throughout Florida.
The school district has recommended Allison Castellano, principal of Omni Middle School across the street, as Spanish River’s new principal. The school board will vote on her appointment Wednesday.