A Florida high school principal was fired months after he suggested there’s a question of whether or not the Holocaust was “a factual, historical event.”
William Latson, the former Spanish River Community High School principal, was fired on Wednesday after the county school board voted 5-2 in favor of his removal on the grounds of “ethical misconduct” and “failure to carry out job responsibility.” according to the Palm Beach Post. He will remain suspended without pay until his termination becomes official on Nov. 21.
The controversy began when he refused to unequivocally state that the Holocaust definitively happened to the parent of a student.
Back in April, Latson told a parent that Holocaust education is “dealt with in a variety of ways,” but noted that the “curriculum is to be introduced but not forced upon individuals as we all have the same rights but not all the same beliefs.”
The parent then pressed Latson about this response explaining “the Holocaust is a factual, historical event” and not a “right or a belief.”
“Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened and you have your thoughts but we are a public school and not all of our parents have the same beliefs so they will react differently,” he wrote in a subsequent email. “My thoughts or beliefs have nothing to do with this because I am a public servant.”
Multiple teachers who worked under Latson defended him during the hearing but it did not sway the board. Following the vote, Latson’s lawyer vowed to appeal the board’s decision in state administrative court, arguing that it was arbitrary.
