DELTONA, Fla. — Volusia County School Board members say they are reconsidering their vote on newly appointed Chair, Jessie Thompson, after an August video surfaced of her making comments diminishing school board members and students.

What You Need To Know

  • Volusia County School Board is reconsidering their appointment of Jessie Thompson as their chair. 

  • Jessie Thompson made remarks considered diminishing about fellow school board members and students

  • Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. called for Thompson's removal as chair after video of her comments surfaced.

  • The reconsideration of Thompson's appointment as chair is on the agenda for the next school board meeting on Jan. 14

The decision came after Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. called for her removal.

“My goal is to have her removed as chair,” said.

Avila has been very vocal about removing Thompson from her position as chair after an August video surfaced of Thompson speaking at a Moms for Liberty Summit.

“The real issue in Florida is that the standards are so low,” Thompson said at the summit. “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. It was 100%! Now I have 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.”

That video also shows Thompson sharing that she has lied to school board members to get motions passed and even referred to one board member by the color of their skin.

 “You can see them bow up. We have a tan gentleman who just gets all puffy, he gets filled with pride because he’s supported and then that encourages them to do some more crazy nonsense,” Thompson continued.

While Avila didn’t like how Thompson was talking about her constituents; he felt the attack on the high school in his city is what really crossed the line.

“All that hard work that they put in to make sure that Deltona High School was an A-rated school diminished over. I don’t know if it was a political stunt or what it was, but over politics,” Avila said.

Spectrum News 13 reached out to Jessie Thompson for an interview but has yet to hear back. 

She did, however, make a public apology at Tuesday’s school board meeting, but Avila said he felt that it was forced and insincere.

“Now she feels sorry because now she feels the pressure,” Avila said. “This isn’t about partisan or politics, this isn’t about any of that, this is about our kids.”

The reconsideration of Thompson’s appointment as chair is on the agenda for the next school board meeting on Jan. 14.

Avila asks for parents and students that show up to be respectful but firm.