Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Martin County board defers teacher Matthew Theobaldtermination hearing to state administrative judge after heated public comment
Summary
After hours of public testimony both defending and condemning teacher Matthew Theobald, the Martin County School Board voted 4-2 to defer the superintendents recommendation for termination to the Division of Administrative Hearings. Supporters urged reinstatement; critics said the teachers private post undermined trust.
The Martin County School Board voted 4-2 on Oct. 21 to send the superintendents recommendation to terminate history teacher Matthew Theobald to the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, after more than two hours of public comment that divided the community.
Martin Powell, an attorney representing Theobald, asked the board to defer the matter to DOA and said a third-party hearing would avoid the appearance of impropriety. "You have an opportunity to do that right now," Powell said, urging the board to "take yourself out of the situation" and let an impartial forum decide. Board attorney Tony George told members the teachers filing on Oct. 8 started a 60-day clock that would require the board to hear the case by roughly Dec. 8 if it retained jurisdiction.
The hearing request followed public controversy over a private social-media post in which Theobald…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
