The Flagler School Board at their Tuesday meeting underwent potentially the longest single continuous impasse in the history of the county’s local politics. The Board remained in a deadlock until deep into Wednesday morning. It wound up taking 104 attempts at a vote before the Board could appoint a vice chair. The role was ultimately given to Will Furry at 2:53 am.
There were 104 votes taken in an attempt to appoint a vice chair. Each one of those consisted of one vote each on Furry and the other nominee, Board members Lauren Ramirez, so the Board in actuality voted 208 times on one matter. And that’s not counting the several times alternate proposals were suggested to reach a compromise, none of which passed.
“I think the outcome was a good outcome,” Furry said Wednesday. “I believe that Lauren has a bright future, I just don’t think the timing was right for her to take this leadership role.”
The Long Road to Resolution
The Board voted 2-2 for hours straight, lacking a critical fifth member due to former member Derek Barrs being appointed to President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation. The Board lamented this unfortunate obstacle repeatedly, but not enough so for any members to change their vote.
The matter was finally resolved when Ramirez agreed to bow out of consideration, casting her vote instead for Furry. She’d nominated herself for the job with the support of Janie Ruddy, while Furry had been nominated by Christy Chong. Superintendent LaShakia Moore served as chair for the duration of the ordeal per board policy. Her natural exasperation with her colleagues’ collective stubbornness was rarely betrayed by a disposition of productivity and poise.
Unflinching Resolves
“I’d like to see us come to a compromise,” Chong said in an interview during a break before the decision was reached. “This is [Furry’s] last year, I’d like to see him serve as the vice chair, and I’ve said it a million times but there will be other opportunities for Ms. Ramirez for chair or vice chair.” Chong, who’d been appointed chair by then, said she specifically wanted Furry as her backup in the event she couldn’t make a meeting. That’s the only job requirement of the vice chair, making the marathon vote even more inexplicable.
Ramirez advocated for the time she’d put in attending Florida School Boards Association meetings, intentionally preparing for a time when she’d become vice chair or chair. She and Ruddy also pointed to Furry’s ongoing two years as Board chair leading up to the vote, while he and Chong resisted the idea of ‘turns’ playing a role in the decision. Chong and Furry both credited Ramirez’s preparation work on multiple occasions, but held that it was not their only consideration. Furry’s ongoing tenure as chair, a curtain call in some colleagues’ eyes, represented an asset for Chong.
Staying the Course
At one point, Board Attorney David Delaney tossed the board a life preserver: he offered the idea to appoint one member vice chair with the understanding that they’d step down in six months’ time, allowing a new vote for the other member to serve the next six months. Ruddy and Ramirez accepted the idea, and Chong for a moment appeared open to it. Furry was vehemently against the proposal, noting its departure from the intent of written board policies as his deal-breaker. And so the life preserver fell limply onto unsettled waters.
“Our board policy said we must elect a vice chair at this meeting,” Furry said Wednesday. “Our policies are what our guiding principles are. If we don’t hold true to our policies, what are we holding ourselves accountable to?” Ultimately Chong sided with him, and the motion died 2-2 like the rest.
“It was indicative of perhaps more of a long-term vision versus maybe what traditionally has been thought of managing those roles, as well as perhaps the two different types of servant styles that the board is currently split on,” Ruddy added Wednesday.
“I chose to concede because it was clear the board needed a path forward, and I didn’t see stepping back as a loss,” Ramirez said. “While I knew I could have brought my FSBA training to the vice chair role, I can still fully represent District 5 and support Flagler Schools without that title. My focus is on keeping us moving forward professionally and collaboratively for our students and community.”
