BES Principal Donelle Evensen Placed on Administrative Leave

BUNNELL – Donelle Evensen, the embattled principal of Bunnell Elementary School, has been placed on administrative leave by interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore. The move comes in the aftermath of a stunning and highly controversial decision to greenlight an assembly of only Black students to stress higher test scores, featuring premonitions of jail or early death and eventually an academic bracket contest for fast food prizes.

Evensen’s leave is the first major action taken since news of the assemblies broke this week, and the culmination of overwhelming calls for discipline by parents and members of the community. The story was picked up first by local news outlets, then state, and it eventually graced the websites of Fox News and The Washington Post. It’s not the first time in recent years Flagler Schools has been in national headlines, with few of those instances being positive.

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The decision to suspend Evensen was likely the catalyst of a last-second postponement of Thursday morning’s planned School Board retreat, in which Board members were scheduled to interview Moore for the permanent superintendent job. That announcement was made under an hour before the scheduled start time, with an ominous allusion to further action at Bunnell Elementary School as the reason. Moore requested the delay herself, and soon thereafter it became apparent why.

Moore will be holding a press conference at 11:30 am, most certainly to elaborate on her decision. She herself has issued two apologies for the assembly, one as a prepared statement and one by video. District personnel have largely tried to maintain the positive intentions of the assemblies, but have made little headway in easing the concerns of the community.

In a post made to his personal Facebook account Thursday, Evensen’s husband adamantly defended the judgment and actions of his wife. “It takes a long time to grow a forest and only minutes to burn it down,” James Evensen said. “The spark in this case was black teachers trying to motivate black students to be more successful.” He conceded the mistake in the assemblies but then turned his scrutiny toward the community members who’ve spoken out. “I see comments that are full of venom and hate. They have no problem putting effort into calling for all those involved jobs and worse, but obviously didn’t share news of the grant she wrote to get a million dollars for her school to improve […] You may be at risk of losing the greatest administrator this school has seen.”

Evensen, who was hired as Bunnell Elementary’s principal in late July, less than a month prior to the debacle surrounding the assembly. Given the widespread media attention surrounding the ordeal, it seems increasingly unlikely she’ll serve another day as principal. That dilemma is likely still to be tackled by Moore and district staff.