Spanish River High School Principal Reassigned Over Holocaust Comments

BOCA RATON (CBSMiami/AP) -— A high school principal in Boca Raton, which has a large Jewish population, is being reassigned after telling a student's mother that "not everyone believes the Holocaust happened."

The Palm Beach County school district said Monday that Spanish River High School Principal William Latson will be reassigned to a district job effective immediately.

The district said in a statement that while Latson has apologized, "his leadership has become a major distraction."

The Boca Raton community has a large Jewish population.

The Palm Beach Post reported last week that the mother sent an email to Latson last year inquiring how the Holocaust was taught.

In his response, the principal remarked that he couldn't "say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee."

He added that not all students' parents believe the Holocaust happened.

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.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.)