OPEN LETTER to the Flagler Beach School Administrators (sent via email)
Greetings,
We visited Flagler Beach about three years ago in our RV. It was a beautiful town and the ocean view from our RV was one of the best we’ve had in our many travels.
We are currently shopping for a home in Florida. While we had planned to look for a home in or near Flagler Beach, we are now steering FAR clear of your area.
While none of our children are gay (that we yet know of anyway), we would never choose to raise our children in a town that promotes hatred and discrimination by failing to adequately punish those who commit hate crimes against others, especially against children.
As alleged in the article below, your decision to put the young man who assaulted and (allegedly) threatened to kill Luke Herbert back in the same classroom with the victim was horrible.
Also as alleged in the article below, your failure to fire the teacher who admitted making inappropriate comments in front of Luke Herbert and other students, thus further encouraging hatred and discrimination among impressionable children, and in violation of your own written policy to terminate employees guilty of harassment, was absolutely horrid.
I don’t know how you sleep at night knowing what you’ve done to Luke Herbert and to all gay students in your district, as well as gay adults living in your town. Your message has been heard loud and clear by all of them. By failing to protect a child against hate crimes, you are standing side by side with the perpetrators.
Shame on all of you.
Angela Hoy
Ref: http://www.politicususa.com/en/aclu-luke-herbert
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UPDATE: I received an email from Katrina Townsend, the Director of Student Services at Flagler County Schools. She said I have misinformation and that she is not at liberty to release details from the students’ files. She said to be assured the “facts” as presented are not correct.
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Here is my response:
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Re: We were planning to move to Flagler Beach…
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:58:49 -0400
From: Angela Hoy
To: Townsend, Katrina
Hi Katrina,
Are you saying no assault took place? It’s my understanding the student perpetrator was suspended after assaulting Luke Herbert. Please let me know what about this is wrong because I am publishing this letter online and I want it to be factual.
Angela Hoy
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SHE RESPONDED by sending an almost identical email as her previous one, providing no information whatsoever about which “facts” may be wrong.
