Flagler School Board members Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro participated in their final business meetings on Monday, with two brand new members waiting in the wings to take their seats. Conklin’s District 3 seat will be taken over by Janie Ruddy, while Massaro’s District 5 seat will be inherited by Lauren Ramirez.
Their swearing in will take place at the next business meeting on November 19th, but Monday marked the final full business meeting in Conklin and Massaro’s respective tenures. The meeting was moved upstairs to the workshop meeting room, as the regular Board chambers were being used by the Bunnell City Commission. A packed room (considering its relatively low capacity) came to watch the parting meeting of the two members.
Two Tenures Come to an End
With the end of her term quickly approaching, Conklin is one of the longest-tenured elected officials in Flagler County. First elected in 2000, having been re-elected every four years with little trouble. She’s seen the district through several superintendents, a global pandemic, the rapid politicization of local school boards in Florida, and an ever-changing cavalcade of fellow members with wildly varying leadership styles.
Massaro has only served one four-year term on the Board, having been elected when she defeated incumbent Maria Barbosa in 2018. Still, her presence on the Board has made her into a de facto voice of seniority, even in times she took on the rest of the Board on key issues.
A few people used public comment as an opportunity to acknowledge the occasion. Among them were Andy Dance, Conklin’s longtime School Board colleague, and member-elect Lauren Ramirez. Both thanked the two members for their service and for the personal interactions and relationships they’ve enjoyed with the pair. “The most important thing I look back on is the camaraderie we had on the Board,” Dance said. “We had our agreements and disagreements but we always left with our respect for one another […] we appreciate you and the time you’ve put into improving Flagler Schools, and the children and staff.”
“My youngest, when they were like…infant car seats…you met me when I was a hot mess and you were so nice to me,” Ramirez said to Conklin. “Cheryl, I appreciate meeting you and you believing in me not even knowing me […] I know I have some big shoes to fill.”
One Final Meeting
Though it was a farewell of sorts, Board member Massaro did not rest on her laurels during the Monday meeting. She spoke up during Chair Will Furry’s analysis of the forthcoming expenses attached to replacing fired Board Attorney Kristy Gavin, disputing Furry’s assessment that it was an inevitable cost. Furry allowed an agree-to-disagree view on the matter, but Massaro was adamant about her interpretation being the correct one.
Massaro used her closing comments to thank district staff for their work during Hurricane Milton, opening up Rymfire Elementary School as a refuge for the general population during the storm. She also thanked the work of the engineers who redesigned Flagler Palm Coast High School’s parking lot such that it did not flood, a remarkable achievement in the eyes of any who’ve attended FPCHS. “There’s some people I’m going to miss, and there’s others I’m not,” she said, adding that attendees would know whom that comment referred to. She called some of her colleagues among the worst School Board members in the county’s history, seemingly alluding to Janet McDonald, Jill Woolbright, and Sally Hunt. She confirmed afterward the remark was not aimed at Furry or Christy Chong.
School Board Chair Will Furry. ⓒ Eryn Harris
Conklin read from prepared remarks, thanking the community, faculty, and students for her 24 years of public service. “Remember that this role is not about personal agendas or politics, it’s about students and the future we’re building for them. Listen to them, I haven’t always been great about that,” she said. “Every decision you make touches the lives or thousands of children, teachers and family […] public education is the cornerstone of our democracy, it is the bedrock upon which we build our future.”
Chong thanked Conklin in particular for lessons she’s learned in co-service, saying she considered Conklin a friend. She did not address Massaro in her closing comments. Furry praised both members as well, saying he enjoyed their debates on issues in which they disagreed.
A Fresh Team
To the surprise of many, Conklin was adamant for much of her last term that she’d stepping down after the 2024 elections. Massaro was less certain, initially pledging that she’d most likely step down before later filing to run after all. She later reversed that decision and withdrew from the race when eventual winner Lauren Ramirez filed to run against fellow challenger Vincent Sullivan. She endorsed Ramirez and stayed largely hands-off in the race, though her preferred successor won by a comfy margin.
The Board currently only has four members, with Furry and Chong preparing to become the most tenured voices with two years of experience apiece. The two of them, along with Sally Hunt, were elected in 2022 resulting in the removal of two incumbents. Hunt resigned her seat in September, and the Board still awaits an appointment by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the remainder of her term. With recently-appointed Superintendent LaShakia Moore and a relatively new legal firm, the Board is as fresh to the job as it’s been in years.
