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TBT Exclusive: The Lincoln Memorial Academy Saga

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In this three-part series, TBT editor and feature columnist Dennis Mitch Maley takes a deep dive into the Manatee School District's controversial takeover of Lincoln Memorial Academy, a former district middle school that converted to a community charter under its popular principal, Eddie Hundley.

Part 1
Sunday, Apr 18, 2021
During a school board meeting on July 23 of 2019, the Manatee County School District used emergency measures to terminate Lincoln Memorial Academy's charter and return the school (which had converted from a district school to a district charter) to the district's control. At the center of the action was a water shut-off notice from the City of Palmetto that appears to have been fabricated for the exact purpose of facilitating the takeover. To this day, what should be very troubling questions about the bogus notice and the retaking of the popular school remain unanswered.

Part 2
Sunday, Apr 25, 2021
Last week, I explored the role of an inaccurate, seemingly fabricated water shutoff notice that played a pivotal role in the Manatee School District's retaking of Lincoln Memorial Academy. In this installment, we take a look at how the district tied accusations against one of its own employees to LMA's principal and nonsensically used the matter as a secondary justification for the district's use of a rare "emergency" takeover process that allowed for the school to be denied the due process it would have otherwise been entitled to.

Part 3
Sunday, May 02, 2021
Over the past two columns, I described highly questionable justifications that the School District of Manatee County used in their retaking of Lincoln Memorial Academy, a district school that had successfully transitioned to a district charter. The justifications seemed to range from asinine to fraudulent, defying any application of common sense, once one delved deeper than the district’s own self-authored narrative. This week, we look at the third prong of the attack–the school’s finances–to complete the picture as to how unjust the ultimate outcome really was.

TBT Podcast:LMA Founder Eddie Hundley

Eddie Hundley is a career educator with 25 years of experience. He was the principal of Lincoln Middle School in Palmetto when the administration, teachers, and families overwhelmingly voted to transition into a district charter school. Despite considerable academic success and the unwavering support of the community, the district and school board used dubious reasoning to invoke emergency powers to initiate a process to revoke Lincoln's charter without the normal due process. Hundley sits down with TBT editor Mitch Maley to tell his side of this explosive story.


BONUS:

Podcast: Eddie Hundley on Troof Be told

In this in-depth, long-form podcast video, Hundley is grilled on all of the rumors and gossip surrounding the LMA takeover. Click here to watch on YouTube.

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of ourweekly podcast. He is also the host ofPunk Rock Politixon YouTube. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County governmentsince 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Clickherefor his bio. His latest book, Burn Black Wall Street Burn, which is set during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, is availablehere.

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