BOCA RATON, Fla. — The Palm Beach County School Board is one week away from deciding if a former high school principal will be fired after making controversial comments about the Holocaust.
Superintendent Dr. Donald Fennoy is recommending William Latson be fired at a school board meeting later this month.
Back in July, the School District of Palm Beach County launched an investigation into Latson, the former principal at Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton.
It all started in 2018 when a parent complained that Latson made comments about the Holocaust not being a factual event.
The investigative report recommended the district has "just cause" to fire Latson after he violated several district policies.
The district said Latson left on vacation to Jamaica the day that local and national news agencies started reporting on the story.
According to the investigative report, Latson did not respond to four calls and five text messages from the district’s deputy superintendent of schools. But Latson was able to send an email to his staff at Spanish River, in which he defended himself.
The report said this was a failure to communicate with the district, which is Latson's responsibility as a school leader.
Documents showed Latson’s lawyer said the investigation into the former principal was not necessary. His argument was that the district did not punish Latson in 2018 when they were first made aware of the email exchange he had with the parent.
Latson’s lawyer said the motivation of the district is to "sweep under the rug" the action taken in 2018 and "instead allowing and assisting the spotlight to focus on Latson [throwing him under the bus]."
The school board will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 30 to make a decision on Latson's future.
🔽 READ INVESTIGATIVE REPORT 🔽