Smallish school (only about 60 kids per graduating class). They offer a few APs (for seniors only). And they are kind of snobby about what they consider to be the high quality of their English program. They prefer to think that the kids get more out of going in-depth vs. the fast pace AP classes require.
If I were in that meeting, I'd have said the meeting jumped the shark the moment they spouted that last sentence, because they clearly don't understand the nature of AP English, or they'd have never said it.
I had AP English all four years of high school, and fast-paced it was not. The only part that seemed fast was when you had to keep up with nightly reading assignments, but then again, all you had to do was come into class the next day, keep your mouth shut for the first ten minutes of classroom discussion, and you'd be up to speed and participating in said discussion. Who needs Cliff's Notes when you're talking about the reading each morning in-depth? And that's assuming that the given literature was unappealing, because otherwise, a real gifted student would be reading ahead for enjoyment.
And it sounds like they got it wrong for your DD's issue, because she showed up ready to talk about Poe in-depth, but the teacher rushed right on past him and on to other topics. What she wants is in-depth, and one place she can get that is AP.
