VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The chairperson for the Volusia County School Board is stepping down from her leadership position but will remain on the board.
Jessie Thompson represents District 3, which encompasses the southeastern part of the county.
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It is not known exactly why Thompson is stepping down as school board chair, but Thompson came under fire in December after Deltona’s mayor shared a video of Thompson’s remarks at a Moms for Liberty Summit last August.
In that video, Thompson claimed she had fed fake data to officials to get some security measures approved, made disparaging remarks about Deltona High School students, and questioned the legitimacy of the school’s graduation rate.
She also disparaged a fellow school board member, Ruben Colon.
Thompson apologized to the board and called it a “growing moment.”
“I’m sorry for the words that I said because I chose those words poorly, I do sincerely believe that all of our students deserve the best education,” she said.
The school board voted unanimously in December to redetermine who will chair the board, which was supposed to happen at a Jan. 14 organizational meeting.
That meeting is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. at the school board office in DeLand. It will take place before the regular school board meeting.
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