Former Escambia County Superintendent of Schools Tim Smith spoke with the Washington Post about how he was fired for his refusal to remove books from schools.
Last May, the board fired Smith by a 3-2 vote – with Kevin Adams, Paul Fetsko and David Williams voting for termination. Smith’s firing was not on the agenda, and the public wasn’t allowed to speak on the motion.
“I think my firing and the issues that came to my firing were deep. The books, those were a piece but just a piece,” Smith said. “I think a divisiveness had permeated our board. It was toxic. If you have a divided board and superintendent, you are not moving your district forward.”
He added, “I’m very concerned for our school district. My hope is that the person who follows me is better at building unity than I was. I hoped that would happen. But the bottom line was — it didn’t.”
Meanwhile, Interim Keith Leonard removed the books and received “highly effective” evaluations from Adams, Fetsko, Williams and Bill Slayton without even completing a full school year on the job.
Smoke Alarm Saturday
The Pensacola Fire Department will hold its next Smoke Alarm on Saturday, Jan. 20. This is the latest effort by the department to provide free smoke alarms to every household in the City of Pensacola without a working smoke alarm.
This event will cover a portion of the Scenic Heights Neighborhood, in District 1. Teams will cover the area south of Kingsberry Drive, north of Durango Drive, east of Leeway Boulevard and west of Flax Road.
During Smoke Alarm Saturdays, PFD firefighters will be going door to door from 9 a.m. to noon, walking the neighborhood and offering to install a smoke alarm free of charge. PFD will be joined by Mayor D.C. Reeves, American Red Cross volunteers, and one or more City Council representatives while canvassing the neighborhoods.
