Volusia County School Board Chair apologizes for 'gas tank' comments: 'I'm sorry for the words I said'

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Published  December 11, 2024 4:44pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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Volusia school board chair apologizes for comments

The Volusia County school board chair is apologizing for disparaging comments made about some students earlier this year.

The Brief

    • Volusia County School Board Chair Jessie Thompson faces scrutiny for comments made about graduation standards at a Washington, D.C., summit, sparking criticism from Deltona’s mayor and prompting a motion to reconsider her position as chair.
    • Thompson apologized at the December 10 board meeting, acknowledging her remarks about Title I schools and fellow board members, while District 5 representative Ruben Colon emphasized the importance of the chair representing the entire board.
    • The board will revisit the discussion of Thompson's chairmanship at its next meeting on January 14, with her fate remaining undecided until 2025.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - The chairperson of Volusia County Schools will have to wait until 2025 to learn her fate on the board.

At the board’s regular meeting on December 10, Ruben Colon, who represents District 5, made a motion to reconsider the face of their five-person board.

The motion follows comments made by Chairperson Jessie Thompson at a summit in Washington D.C. on August 30. Video captured Thompson discussing high school graduation rates.

"In Florida, the standards are so low… and when I say the standards are low, I mean, we have one high school, and I don’t mean to take anything away from students or parents, and it is a Title I school, so high-five for doing this, they had a 100% graduation rate last year… 100%," Thompson said. "Now, I’ve walked that school multiple times. I’ve met some bright students, and I’ve met some students that I wouldn’t trust filling up my tank of gas, so I find it really hard to believe that they graduated, and graduation is now turned into basically just handing out participation ribbons." 

According to the district’s website, Volusia County has five Title I high schools. Thompson did not say which school she was referring to, but according to Santiago Avila, Jr., she was speaking about Deltona High School.

For the 2022-2023 school year, Deltona High School’s graduation rate was 99.7% — the highest in the district, according to Volusia County Schools.

As mayor of Deltona, Avila has since called for Thompson’s removal from the board.

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"She can’t be here representing kids and diminishing the kids from a Title I school," Avila said.

Thompson is also under fire for comments allegedly made about fellow board members. During Tuesday’s meeting, Thompson apologized, and called it a growing moment.

"I’m sorry for the words that I said, because I chose them poorly," Thompson said. "I do sincerely believe that all our students deserve the best education," Thompson said. "I am sorry to the board that I sit with that my words caused you sadness and anger."

Colon was the one who brought up the topic Tuesday night. He said he needed to "address the elephant in the room" before calling for a motion to reconsider the board’s decision to elect Thompson as their chairperson.

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"One of the privileges that we have is to elect our chair, and that person speaks for all of us," Colon said. "That person doesn’t have any more power than any one of us; our votes all count as one."

The discussion of Thompson’s fate as board chair will continue at the next Volusia County School Board meeting on January 14.

The Source: The video recording of Volusia County School Board Chairperson Jessie Thompson's comments at a summit in Washington D.C. on August 30 were provided to FOX 35 by Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr. Additional information was gathered by FOX 35 reporter Hannah Mackenzie at the Volusia County School Board meeting on Dec. 10, 2024.