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A sign posted at a community center in Florida mandating the use of English in work areas created a lot of talk in the city and prompted a commissioner to step in and voice her concerns.
The sign at the Deltona Community Center cited “operational requirements” that required the English-only rule, and some volunteers understood the reasoning.
“You can’t have two or three different languages speaking in that kitchen,” volunteer Roger Rose said. “Now (there’s) one language in the kitchen. It’s a work area.”
City commissioner Nancy Schleicher disagreed, drawing a round of applause from Hispanics at the center.
“I, as an English-speaking person, took offense at it, and I’m sure some of our residents did,” she said. “So it could not stay.”
According to the most recent U.S. Census, more than 30 percent of Deltona is Hispanic, and the people who frequent and volunteer at the center reflects that.
“It comes off the wrong way, especially when most of the people who are in the room are just Hispanics,” Deltona resident Maritza Avila-Vazquez said. “If I have people around me who are Hispanics, I’ll probably end up talking to them in Spanish, but it doesn’t mean that I’m disrespecting anyone.”
Officials with the Council on Aging, who run the facility, said the sign was a misunderstanding, and the organization plans to change how it manages the kitchen.
Schleicher contacted the Deltona city manager about the sign, and it was taken down.
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