Palm Beach County School Board votes to fire former Spanish River High School principal

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Palm Beach County School Board voted Wednesday afternoon to fire the former principal of Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton after he made controversial comments about the Holocaust.

The School Board voted to terminate William Latson in a 5 to 2 vote.

Back in July, Latson was removed as principal and reassigned after emails surfaced from 2018 that showed him telling a parent he could not say the Holocaust was a factual, historical event.

"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 told a parent in an email. "Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened."

During a school district investigation, documents showed Latson took a vacation to Jamaica the day that local and national news agencies started reporting on the story.

Latson did not respond to calls and text messages from the district’s deputy superintendent of schools, but he was able to send an email to his staff, defending himself.

In that email to school staff members, Latson wrote:

The investigative report recommended the district has "just cause" to fire Latson after he violated several district policies.

However, Latson’s attorney said the investigation was not necessary. His argument was that the district did not punish Latson in 2018 when administrators were first made aware of the email exchange he had with the parent.

Latson’s termination will take effect on Nov. 21. However, he has until that date to file an appeal.

Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.