BUNNELL – The Flagler School Board on Tuesday voted to bring on LaShakia Moore as permanent superintendent, following her relatively well-received tenure as interim superintendent. Moore officially succeeds Cathy Mittelstadt, the prior superintendent whose contract was not renewed following a contentious 3-2 Board vote. Moore is now the first Black superintendent in Flagler County’s history.
Moore was put through somewhat of an interview process at the School Board’s Tuesday morning workshop, with all five Board members asking questions on a number of topics. Moore was optimistic in her outlook for the district’s future, but also didn’t shy away from diagnosing issues it currently faces.
One main tenet of Moore’s superintendency, she said, will be community outreach. She was hired in part because the Board agrees on her proficiency in communicating with parents and other community members. Re-establishing a meaningful dialogue between parents and district staff would surely be the start of regaining trust following a contentious couple weeks leading to Moore’s hiring.
To that end, the Board generally agreed that Moore’s most meaningful audition was her handling of the recent controversy surrounding an all-Black assembly at Bunnell Elementary School about test scores. Students were told of violent adult lives and failure if their scores didn’t improve, and they were made to compete against one another in academic contests. Moore was tasked with speaking for the district to an international audience in the assembly’s fallout, and her candor has been largely praised by the School Board.
The motion to hire Moore as permanent superintendent was made by Vice Chair Colleen Conklin and seconded by Will Furry. The vote was unanimous, confirming what was suspected for weeks: Moore will be the next superintendent to lead Flagler Schools.
I’m surprised with what happened last week with the kids at Bunnell elementary. I guess the school board didn’t want to have to find a better person for the job so lets give it to someone who allowed the idiotic assembling of young black students and tell them they will either be in jail or get killed if they don’t improve their grades.
Have something like this happen on her watch so lets promote her to a permanent position. Stupid.
With respect to your (fully justified) disdain for what occurred at Bunnell Elementary, it’s necessary to point out that there are currently no indicators that then-interim Superintendent Moore was made aware of the assembly before it occurred. A superintendent would almost never be informed of something as routine as an assembly – even if this one turned out to be anything but.
Of course, the district’s internal investigation will reveal exactly what communications took place in the lead-up to the assembly. But as of now, the highest-ranking faculty member who was confirmed to know about it was Principal Donelle Evensen.