Year in Education: Some of the most memorable stories from Volusia, Flagler and statewide

Many would argue that Florida schools were at the center of the state's "culture wars" this past year, with book banning, vouchers, critical race theory and more. Here's a look back at some of 2023's most-read education stories statewide as well as highlights from Volusia and Flagler counties.

DeSantis puts education at the top of agenda

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took ambitious strides to continue overhauling education policy statewide in 2023.

To kickstart the year, the Florida Department of Education fueled a contentious debate on how to teach race and American history in classrooms, noting its disapproval of Advanced Placement African American Studies in the Florida Course Code Directory and Instructional Personnel Assignments.

Come March, DeSantis signed one of the nation’s largest private school voucher expansions. This move followed several conservative states: Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Arizona and West Virginia. Some parents approved, but teachers unions and other organizations showed concern that this expansion could further deprive public schools of already limited funding.

That same month, the DeSantis administration spearheaded a movement to expand what opponents dubbed the governor's “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The law, which already prohibited K-3 classrooms from learning about sexual orientation and gender identity, broadened its reach in April to include all public school students, K-12. Teachers in violation risk losing their credentials.

According to a recent PEN America report, more than 40% of the 3,362 book-banning instances nationwide in the 2022-23 school year occurred in a Florida school district. DeSantis, however, signed a law making book banning in Florida even easier. As of July, if a school district finds material that “depicts or describes sexual conduct,” then it “shall discontinue use of the material for any grade level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or unsuitable.”

In August, the Department of Education banned Advanced Placement Psychology. Florida superintendents were instructed that the course cannot be taught unless it excludes topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The College Board, which oversees the AP program, said the course cannot be labeled as “AP” or “Advanced Placement” if required content is modified to censor topics prohibited by state law.

Here’s what happened in Volusia, Flagler counties in 2023:

DeSantis planned to target 14 school board members, including two in Volusia, during the 2024 election

In February, Fox News reported that DeSantis, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler, and co-founders of Moms for Liberty — Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice — met to discuss school board members who, according to the governor, do not protect parental rights and/or shield students from “woke” ideologies.

The list, which contained 14 names, included two from the Volusia County School Board: Anita Burnette and Carl Persis.At the time, Volusia County Moms for Liberty Chair Jenifer Kelly told The News-Journal that the organization has “no issue” with Burnette.

Burns Sci-Tech principal resigns after sending $100K to scammer posing as Elon Musk

Former principal of Volusia County’s Burns Science and Technology Charter School Janet McGee resigned after school officials accused her of writing a $100,000 check in school funding to an online scammer posing as Elon Musk.

McGee said she was trying to get whom she thought was Musk to invest “millions” in the school in exchange for a smaller investment. Bent Appy, the school's business manager, was able to cancel the check before it was cashed.

In April, the school board decided to perform a 12-month audit of the former principal’s account.

Flagler school board ousts Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt

In April, the Flagler School Board opposed renewing Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract, which ended June 30.

School board members Sally Hunt, Will Furry and Christy Chong voted against the renewal, while then-Board Chair Cheryl Massaro and Vice Chair Colleen Conklin approved it.

According to his evaluation of Mittlestadt’s performance, Furry opposed the renewal because he had concerns regarding the district’s academic performance and felt Mittlestadt visited schools infrequently.

Hunt and Chong echoed many of Furry's reasons in their evaluations.

In June, LaShakia Moore — then assistant superintendent for academic services — began serving as Flagler Schools’ interim superintendent until she was officially appointed to the position in September.

Flagler Youth Orchestra director resigns amid feud with school board members

At a June board meeting, Furry questioned why a non-school employee and her husband had direct access to a district bank account as well as why the Flagler Youth Orchestra's account had never been audited. The board recognized this as an “oversight” and authorized a four-year transactional audit of the account.

Former Flagler Youth Orchestra director Cheryl Tristam and her husband, Pierre, had been signers on the account since it started 18 years ago.

In July, Cheryl Tristam announced her resignation in a letter posted on FlaglerLive.com, which is run by her husband. She cited the “reprehensible and inexcusable conduct” of some board members in the note and her resignation left the Flagler School Board and nearly 350 participating students scrambling to find a replacement.

Later that month, the board received a legal opinion from Mark K. Logan, an attorney with Tallahassee-based law firm Sniffen and Spellman, regarding the Flagler Youth Orchestra’s financial structure, noting his comfort with its operation.

In September, the board approved personal service contracts and the budget for the orchestra for the current school year. Victor Rivera was named the new director.

The board also approved the orchestra’s audit in September which indicated that between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2022, the strings program made 23 Amazon purchases totaling $758. About $4 benefitted FlaglerLive, through AmazonSmile, a feature that allows customers to donate a fraction of the purchase price of an item to benefit a nonprofit of their choice. The former director chose FlaglerLive.

Investigation: Ex-Bunnell Elementary principal, teacher discriminated against students based on color

In September, an investigation determined that a principal and teacher at Bunnell Elementary discriminated against students on the basis of race.

On Aug. 18, all Black fourth- and fifth-graders were called to the cafeteria for an assembly to discuss low standardized test scores. It didn’t matter whether the students passed or failed. They were selected to attend the meeting based on race.

Donelle Evensen, the former principal, admitted to knowing about the assemblies, and Anthony Hines, the teacher who led them, admitted to telling children that unsuccessful students have a higher chance of going to jail or being shot or killed.Following community outrage, Evensen resigned from her position Sept. 6 and Hines resigned Sept. 7. The two were previously placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome.

The Flagler County School Board appointed Bunnell Elementary’s Assistant Principal Cari McGee to the principal position at its Dec. 19 meeting.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Schools in Volusia, Flagler and statewide saw numerous changes in 2023