The Palm Beach County School Board in Florida voted on October 7 to reinstate William Latson, who was fired from his position in 2019 after he said he had to be neutral on the Holocaust.
Latson, the former principal of Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton, came under fire after the Palm Beach Post unearthed a 2018 email exchange between Latson and a student’s mother where Latson said, “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 was suspended for four months and was subsequently fired, in part because he didn’t respond to his supervisors when the controversy broke out.
According to the local NBC affiliate WPTV, the school board voted 4-3 to rehire Latson; he will be placed at an unspecified position in the district and will be paid more than $150,000 in wages from when he was suspended.
Karen Brill, one of the members of the school board, told Latson during the meeting, “You have already been tried and convicted in the eyes of the public, and that is something you will carry with you for the remainder of your career. I hope you understand, Mr. Latson, that this is on you and that you finally take accountability for your words and your actions.”
The board was criticized for its vote.
“Shame on @pbcgov for reinstating William Latson. Refusing to state that the Holocaust happened does not make you ‘politically neutral,’ as Latson claimed,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted. “It makes you a Holocaust denier. How can this man be expected to be a role model for students?”
Shame on @pbcsd for reinstating William Latson.
Refusing to state that the Holocaust happened does not make you ‘politically neutral,’ as Latson claimed. It makes you a Holocaust denier.
How can this man be expected to be a role model for students?https://t.co/PKpLeMNPXn
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) October 7, 2020
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fl.) similarly tweeted that the vote was “outrageous,” adding in a subsequent tweet, “Six million Jews were systematically murdered by Hitler during World War II. Do we really want a Holocaust denier educating our youngsters?”
BREAKING TODAY…OUTRAGEOUS! A high school principal in Boca Raton who was fired last year after refusing to acknowledge the Holocaust was reinstated today with back pay. Principal William Latson was dismissed after saying "Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened." (1/2)
— Rep. Vern Buchanan (@VernBuchanan) October 7, 2020
Six million Jews were systematically murdered by Hitler during World War II. Do we really want a Holocaust denier educating our youngsters? (2/2)
— Rep. Vern Buchanan (@VernBuchanan) October 7, 2020
Latson has claimed that the Palm Beach Post’s original reporting on his email exchange with the student’s mother was inaccurate; in August, Judge Robert Cohen of the Division of Administrative Hearings in Tallahasee determined that the Palm Beach County School Board didn’t have the proper grounds to fire Latson. Cohen acknowledged that while Latson chose his words poorly in the 2018 email exchange and should have kept in better contact with his supervisors, his conduct didn’t amount to gross insubordination, therefore he should have been disciplined or reassigned instead of fired.
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