School board chair under fire after calling students 'hoodlums'

ST. PETERSBURG - The president of the St. Petersburg chapter of the NAACP thinks Pinellas County's school board chair should apologize for calling troublesome students "hoodlums".

But board chair Janet Clark stands by her word.

"I'm sorry if anybody was offended," Clark told FOX 13 News. "But to me at the time, that was the best definition of the children I was talking about."

The comment came last week as board members discussed disciplinary issues, particularly at John Hopkins Middle school in St. Petersburg.

Now, NAACP president Ray Tampa is among those taking exception to the use of the word.

Tampa, a retired principal, says Florida's code of professional ethics for educators prohibit the use of language that disparages or embarrasses students.

"Janet Clark...please apologize publicly and let's put this issue behind us," Tampa said in an interview.

"I'm not going to apologize for the use of the word," Clark repeated.

Tampa's position: "Then I feel as if there's an obligation to file a complaint with the (state) ethics commission."

The NAACP president does not know whether the organization's executive board will file the complaint, or whether he will as an individual.