High School Principal fired for “holocaust denial” rehired with back pay

Published by carolyn on Fri, 2020-10-09 14:34

Principal Latson spotlighting all the "Holocaust educators" at his school in his Twitter account, dated February. Probably most "instructors" are uncredentialed volunteers; who knows how much time and school resources are used up in this purely political, forced endeavor.


By Carolyn Yeager

WILLIAM LATSON WAS FIRED IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR after 20 years employment with the Palm Beach County, Florida school district. It was because of a series of emails he sent to a parent in April 2018 explaining his decision to allow students to form their own opinion on the facts of "The Holocaust.”

The emails surfaced when the student's mother revealed them to the school board. In the exchange, Latson (left), who is black, wrote that students were allowed to disbelieve in the Holocaust lessons because “not everyone believes the Holocaust happened” and that as an educator his role was “to be politcally neutral.” This implies he correctly sees the teaching of the Holocaust in schools as a political issue, more than historical.

The parent insisted the Holocaust was an historical fact. Latson replied to her in writing that “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.” He added,

“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.

My thoughts and beliefs have nothing to do with this because I am a public servant.  I have the role to be politically neutral but support all groups in the school. 

I work to expose students to certain things, but not all parents want their students exposed so they will not be and I can’t force that issue.

I do allow information about the Holocaust to be presented and allow students and parents to make decisions about it accordingly. I do the same with information about slavery, I don’t take a position but allow for the information to be presented.

Latson was the principal of Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton, a Florida city with a large Jewish population. Holocaust education is given to students in the 10th and 11th grades; apparently a portion of the curriculum is comprised of self-styled holocaust 'survivors' volunteering to speak to classes about their experience.

The idea that students, with their parents' permission, could opt out of these lessons enraged some parents and school board members. The unnamed parent involved in the email exchange launched a year-long effort to tackle what she called the school leader's failure to separate truth from myth regarding the widespread belief in “the genocide of an estimated 6 million Jews.”

That effort culminated in Latson's firing when the emails leaked to the press in July 2019. An international controversy developed because it came at a time when it's claimed there was increased concern about anti-Semitism in the US and Europe. The school board defended it's decision to fire Latson “not for the comments, but because of failure to carry out job responsibilities” such as “not responding to messages from school district officials” even though it happened that Latson had gone on vacation to Jamaica the very day that media outlets began to cover the story. When he returned and found he had been terminated, he appealed. He argued that his firing was not based on “just cause” or the reasons given but was a ploy by the district to defuse the intense criticism his comments generated.

This past August, a Tallahassee judge sided with Latson, saying that students at Spanish River were still learning about the Holocaust, as required by Florida law, and saying there was not a 'preponderance of the evidence that the principal engaged in misconduct in office, incompetence, or gross insubordination” as required for termination. The judge said that Mr. Latson had “communicated well with students, teachers, and parents, except for the one parent.” He concluded Dr. Latson could be transferred to another position within the District based on his “poor choices in communicating to that parent the idea that everyone at S.R.H.S. has the right to their individual beliefs, even if they differed from the required, approved curriculum.” The judge appeared not to think that was fully acceptable.

But really, every person, even high school students, has the right to their own beliefs no matter what a school teaches, and no one can change that—which is the whole problem with Holocaust education, and that is what drives Jews crazy. Like the sole known Jewish person on the school board, Karen Brill, who called Latson's rehiring “a stain on the school district that will never go away, and it's not just a local stain in Palm Beach County, it's a national stain.”

The regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Florida, Sheri Zvi, said that her group was disappointed that Mr. Latson would be reinstated because of his “disturbing comments about the Holocaust and his failure to take responsibility for them.”

“We continue to believe that he should not be part of the Palm Beach County school system,” she said.

The vote to reinstate Dr. Latson was 4-3, with School Board Chairman Frank Barbieri and members Karen Brill and Erica Whitfield opposed. Brill voiced her outrage at the vote by stating, as reported by the Miami Herald:

‘I hope you understand, Dr. Latson, that this is on you and that you finally take accountability for your words and actions. On behalf of the 17 million people who died in the Holocaust [?] ... I will not support the judge’s and superintendent’s recommendation.’

Board member Chuck Shaw said it was unfortunate Latson's comments had permanently tarnished the public schools' image, but he primarily blamed the situation on the media, which he said "took over this entire conversation before the superintendent had an opportunity to even begin to address this."

Shaw voted to fire Latson last year, but he said he was voting in support of the judge’s recommendation to avoid a costly legal battle for the district. This seems to be the majority thinking. “If we decide tonight that we are not going to accept the hearing officer's final order, we are likely going to have an appeal and end up in court,” Shaw told the Palm Beach Post.

Latson's reassignment does not include his presence on any school campus. Instead he will be placed in the district's assessment department as a 'principal on assignment,' a job title whose meaning I have not discovered. Latson has also apologized to the mother in a statement to the Post, saying:

I regret that the verbiage that I used when responding to an email message from a parent, one year ago, did not accurately reflect my professional and personal commitment to educating all students about the atrocities of the Holocaust.

He included that “it is critical that, as a society, we hold dear the memory of the victims and hold fast to our commitment to counter anti-Semitism.” I suppose these words were approved as sufficient by the Anti-Defamaiton League, but they will never mollify the enmity held against him by the Karen Brill's of the world.

Comments

So sad.  All that shrieking and firing and rehiring and backpaying probably didn't help the cause of truth suppression.  Never again?

Was he forced to apologize as part of the reinstatement, or did he succumb to his opposition like so many of others have who've been publicly ostracized, especially in the wake of BLM? 
Always stay true to your convictions and never apologize for them. 

This is a good question. In the fairly long articles about this I've read, I get the sense that he was always trying to get along with everybody. He wasn't fighting a political battle in the sense that I am, and you are, but he must sympathize with the 'Holocaust' doubters, at least. Also, that mother that emailed with him may have led him down the flowery path of thinking she was friendly and encouraged him to confide in her. Then she sent all his emails to the school board. She was probably Jewish. In league with Brill? We'll never know.

My feeling is that he decided to issue those ingratiating statements because he didn't want to be regarded as damaging the school system he's been a part of. It was about his reputation (and also probably his pension and health care benefits), and maybe also his wife and children, which he probably has. But I'm only guessing.

By the way, the judge who determined there was not enough evidence to terminate Latson was named Cohen. He did say Latson could be denied his old job, though, and moved to another location. I don't think he was entirely on Latson's side.

Thanks Carolyn. I believe that your assessment is correct as it’s logical. It does appear that this was more along the lines of his opinion rather than being a crusader for a larger revisionist movement such as yourself or Michael Walsh. There’s no doubt that he found himself in a hard place and he’s fortunate to have been reinstated, regardless of whether the judge agreed with him or not. Nonetheless, suppression of unpopular opinions is only going to increase in the years to come as jobs, pensions, and health care benefits will be used as leverage to silence dissidents just as they were under Bolshevism in Russia.

Why his students did not give support to their teacher?
I don´t know if they did, but if not, they failed miserably.
They left him alone in the arena with the lions.
 
Hi from Brazil, Carolyn.

Hi Valdemir,

I saw some video showing some co-workers testifying on behalf of the Principal (he was not a teacher), saying what a good job he did, etc. I would imagine some students did too. The Daily Mail had a lot of pictures & video, as usual. Don't assume no one rallied to his side; I'm sure they did. He looks like a very personable guy.

If this man was White, we wouldn't be having this discussion.  Unless of course he pulled an 'about face' like Mike Hunt 

I think you're right about the Black man's race making a difference in how he's been treated, but his treatment can also be pointed to when it happens again with a White man. Every little bit of contrast like that helps. The 'Mike Hunt' tricks don't help but are entertainment for young Whites who need that kind of "fun." My attitude: Time spent on "fun"  prevents a really serious, sustained effort against our enemies from taking place, by relieving our anxiety. It's almost what the Jews would order up for White pacification. What do you think?

Hi Carolyn,
 
I'd like for you to elaborate on what you mean when you say -- "but are entertainment for young Whites who need that kind of "fun" -- 
 
I do not know that much about Mike Hunt, other than I know he once was a Revisionist, and now he is no more.  Why?  I haven't a clue.  I hear theories, but I don't know.  Did he do this whole thing on purpose?  Did he really reject his "revisionism"?  Or did they get to him and threaten his life?  I don't know.  David Cole was an obvious set up.  But Mike Hunt....not sure.  My bet would be that they showed him pictures of JFK's head blown off. 
But I am curious your theory.  
 
I am intrigued by your last sentence -- "Time spent on 'fun' presents a really serious, sustained effort against our enemies from taking place, by relieving our anxiety."  
 
I agree and why I think they will always keep the sports and entertainment industry going.  They tell us Hollywood is suffering and professional sports is losing money etc., etc....
 
but I call BS and suggest that they will "print money" in order to keep both of these industries going.  If our people don't have anything to watch on Tv, maybe they might actually start taking their lives seriously.  
 
Cheers.  :)

I don't know anything at all about Mike Hunt; had to look him up. It's okay to be funny and get a message across that way, but if that's all you do, it won't make anything change.

[Oh, I just got it. You mean Eric Hunt. Yes, I knew Eric well and I don't believe at all that he was "scared off." That's people who don't know him or anyone associated with him who say things like that. Such as you with your "showed him pictures of JFK's head blown off." Eric had an up and down mind, and I think he just got discouraged and wanted to quit. I was actually in regular communication with him at the time this took place; the first hint I had was when he tried to convince me that Babi Yar was real - I was a bit thrown off by that because his argument was so weak. He was also complaining about the major revisionists and saying they had failed to prove their case because they couldn't account for all the Jews who supposedly were sent east. I disagreed and then the next thing I knew, he had come out and publicly condemned it all, using those silly photographs that proved nothing. He made an attempt to "debate" with his old associate Fritz Berg, then just shut up and hasn't been heard from since.  He closed down our Skype connection that we had had for so many years. I have made no attempt to contact him or learn about him. He had a wife and I hope they're still living happily together, and he has been able to even reunite with his mother and brother. No hard feelings -- Eric accomplished a lot for revisionism.]

Yes, I too wish Whites would stay away from professional "black" sports and Jewish entertainment, leftist comedians, etc. We're cutting our own throat with that addiction. https://carolynyeager.net/why-im-calling-boycott-black-privilege

I have not had television in my living quarters since 1982! That's now going on 40 years. Although I have used the Internet since 2005. 

I think what the future holds is more like people being given money in direct payments to keep the economy going and the politicians convening in Congress to make laws. It won't be necessary for everyone to work. Brave new world.

Yes of course I meant Eric Hunt.  So sorry!  Great analysis of Eric Hunt.  Thank you very much.  :)

Speaking of David Cole, I read a column by him a short while ago [NO, it was in a video someone posted here: and this is it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDgVM2qNmqs&t=1328s  from 20:30 to 22:02, check it out] ... in which he bragged that he played a big part in the Eric Hunt affair, saying he was communicating with Eric all that time. 

I'm glad you reminded me of this. David Cole is in no way a friend! He's a jewish showman and an admitted alcoholic. Whether he's telling any truth about this, I cannot say. Most of this video is BS, though.

The guy also said he treated slavery the same way which shows his awareness of the Tony Martin counter narrative that dares imply Jews were heavily involved ( in fact, the dominate force behind the legalization of making blacks in colonial America lifetime multigenerational slaves with no rights. Another topic almost as guarded by Jews as the holocaust

I agree. He would have been thrown under the bus in the blink of an eye. Remember how a couple of months ago Ice Cube made some controversial comments on his Twitter account that were supportive of the Nation of Islam and criticized Jews, particularly Zionists, for many of the problems within the Black community rather than those outlined by BLM? While his comments did receive outcry from the usual suspects, the pushback was minimal compared to what a non-minority, especially a White, would have received in the public sphere – and I believe that he didn’t receive any ban from Twitter. The double standard is real and the examples are increasing at an alarming rate.

Surely Mr Ice Cube has a point: Jews are totally responsible for wrecking black communities.
Now seriously: I'm starting to sympathise with the Jews on account that they are blamed for all the evil on earth - and they are killing all those palestinian children......I heard.

Thank you for this insightul, and most relevant article, Carolyn. I am glad that Mr. Latson would have really liked for students to form their own opinions on the "holocaust", and that he would have liked to remain neutral on this subject. Unfortunately in the end, he capitulated to the infamous ADL, and apologized! He sent a message to all of the students, parents, and staff that it's okay to backdown from your convictions because these powerful jews demanded it! He wanted money and other benefits more than the truth! We need the truth more than ever, in a decaying world that is filled with lies and darkness, and in the end, Mr. Latson failed so many people.