Parents, teachers and students press board to reinstate teacher Melissa Calhoun; board declines immediate action

Hundreds of community members and teachers asked the Brevard Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday to reinstate Melissa Calhoun, a teacher whose contract was not renewed amid an internal investigation. Speakers said the Florida Education Practices Commission reviewed her case and did not remove her certificate, and they urged the board to follow a previously stated condition that her rehiring would be reconsidered if the state allowed her to continue teaching.

During the public-comment portion of the meeting, union leaders, parents, students and colleagues delivered repeated appeals for Calhoun’s reinstatement and for broader transparency in the district’s personnel decisions. Anthony Kluge, who identified himself as president of the Brevard Federation of Teachers, said the district’s actions suggested…