A Florida principal is now out of a job after he told a parent via email that he was unable to prove that the Holocaust was indeed a “factual, historical event.” This was his second time being fired after being reinstated following an appeal with the school board.
On Monday, the Palm Beach County School Board voted to terminate William Latson at Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton, which also overturned the decision to reinstate the former principal earlier.
In July 2019, Latson was reassigned after his Holocaust remark to a parent in 2018, through email. In those emails, Latson also stated that could not “force” Holocaust teachings on kids because some of their parents did not believe that the event took place.
Months later, the board voted to relieve Latson of his duties, but not because of his remarks through email. Instead, the board believes that he “failed to respond to communication from his supervisors and failed to assist the district in addressing the serious disruption caused by the aforementioned email and news coverage,” reports say.
Last month, board members voted to bring Latson back, but opted against it after receiving backlash from the Jewish community, the Palm Beach Post reported.
In a recently uploaded YouTube video, Latson apologized for his Holocaust remarks.
“When I wrote to a parent in 2018 that as an employee of Palm Beach County Public Schools I could not state that the Holocaust was a historical fact, I was wrong,” he said in the video. “I apologize to the Palm Beach County community, the School Board, the school administration, the parents, students, teachers of Palm Beach County, the Jewish community and everyone offended or hurt by my mistake.”
“I am not a Holocaust denier,” he said. “I have never been a Holocaust denier.”
