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Florida principal reassigned after saying he couldn't call Holocaust 'a factual, historical event'

Emails from 2018 revealed controversial comments
Posted at 2:02 PM, Jul 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-08 14:31:14-04

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The principal of Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton, Florida, has been reassigned following controversial comments he made about the Holocaust .

In an email from 2018, Principal William Latson told a parent, "I can't say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee," adding that "not everyone believes the Holocaust happened."

After details of the email were first published in The Palm Beach Post, Latson apologized and said, "I regret that the verbiage that I used when responding to an email message from a parent, one year ago, did not accurately reflect my professional and personal commitment to educating all students about the atrocities of the Holocaust."

On Monday, the Palm Beach County School District said Latson is being reassigned to a district position "out of an abundance of concern and respect for the students and staff of Spanish River Community High School."

In a statement, a school district spokesperson said:

Mr. Latson made a grave error in judgment in the verbiage he wrote... In addition to being offensive, the principal's statement is not supported by either the School District Administration or the School Board."The school district said Latson was counseled about his comments in the email and has been reassigned effective immediately.

This story was originally published by Ryan Hughes on WPTV .