Jessie Thompson Steps Down as Volusia School Board Chair

Jessie Thompson has relinquished her duties as Chair of the Volusia School Board, following controversial remarks which were taken as offensive to students at one of the county’s high schools. Thompson will remain on the School Board as a regular member, but is no longer in charge of procedure and decorum at meetings. In October, Thompson attended a summit by the conservative group Moms for Liberty in Washington D.C., and was filmed saying she had “met some students that I wouldn’t trust filling up my tank of gas” while visiting Deltona High School. Furthermore, she referred to her fellow School Board member Ruben Colón as a ‘tan man’, which brought her under fire for racial insensitivity. The Volusia School Board will decide its next Chair at an organizational meeting later this month. The decision by Thompson to step down as Chair was applauded by Colón, as well as by Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. who was among the first to call for Thompson’s removal. In December he responded by saying that Thompson’s statements were “unacceptable” and “disparaging”, and that he was “deeply appalled”. “Mrs. Jessie Thompson, who represents District 3 on the School Board, has stepped down from her position as Chair,” the Volusia County school district said in a communication reported by WESH. “She will continue her duties as a Board Member. A new Chair will be determined at an organizational meeting scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, January 14, before the regularly scheduled board meeting.”