South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Board of Education’s pathetic show trial harms kids, teachers
The state Board of Education gave eight school districts a fair trial Thursday — and then hanged them.
According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the eight districts, among them Broward and Palm Beach, violated state “law” by requiring masks in all schools with very strict opt-out provisions. Against all research, DeSantis and Corcoran oppose mask mandates and insist that parental “freedom” matters more than public health.
Thursday’s show trial was an attempt by DeSantis, through Corcoran and the governor’s appointees to the Board of Education, to intimidate school board members in those districts and appeal to Republican voters. The process was more like a trial in Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
The outcome was clear before Chairman Tom Grady opened the meeting.
Consider what happened when Broward’s interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright got her allotted five minutes to speak. As with each district, Corcoran had already concluded that Broward was out of compliance. As with each district, there already was a motion to approve Corcoran’s findings.
DeSantis and Corcoran hung their case on the so-called “Parents Bill of Rights” in HB 241, which the Legislature passed this year. Cartwright dismantled that argument, noting that the law allows districts to override parental authority when there is a “compelling state interest,” such as protecting the health of students and teachers.
Cartwright also noted that the law allows such action when “narrowly tailored.”
Like their counterparts elsewhere, Broward County School Board members have linked the mandate to COVID-19 metrics. When cases drop to safe levels, masks will become optional. The Broward County School Board reaffirmed that policy this week by an 8-1 vote.
Perhaps sensing the weakness of their first argument, DeSantis and Corcoran shifted to a Sept. 22 order from the new surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo.
The anti-masker and vaccine skeptic gave parents “sole discretion” to determine when their children could return to school after being exposed to someone with the virus. The order included a mandatory opt-out from mask requirements.
Hired last month, Ladapo issued his order one day after DeSantis announced his appointment. It looks as sloppily thrown together as some of DeSantis’ executive orders.
Cartwright and others argued persuasively that neither the Board of Education nor the Department of Health, which Ladapo runs, can usurp the rulemaking authority of local school districts. They cited the state constitution and state law.
When Cartwright finished, the board unanimously found Broward out of compliance. It went that way almost every time — no questions and a 7-0 vote.
The only exception was when Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna asked the board to withhold his salary along with those of elected school board members who approved the tough mask mandates. Hanna is the only elected superintendent in the eight districts.
The result: The state will withhold about
$30,000 in salary for the seven Palm Beach board members and about $35,000 for the nine Miami-Dade members. Broward will lose about $460,000, which includes nine board salaries and a $421,000 COVID-19 safety grant from the Biden administration.
And for what? This was a pathetic attempt by DeSantis and Corcoran at public shaming. Instead, the shame fell on them.
Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho eloquently laid out the dilemma that districts faced in late summer. COVID19 cases were spiking. Not only did districts want students back on campus, Corcoran had given them no choice by prohibiting distance learning.
With vaccines unavailable for children under 12 and with only 38% of Floridians aged 12 to 17 fully vaccinated, what alternative besides masks did districts have to keep students and staff as safe as possible? Carvalho said he and board members had no other responsible choice.
Though Corcoran claimed that the state found no difference in COVID-19 cases between districts based on opt-out provision, several superintendents cited direct links between mandates and fewer on-campus cases. Brevard School Board Chairwoman Misty Belford said the state’s actions were producing “catastrophic outcomes” and called masks “the only option.”
Lacking a credible legal or public health case against masks, DeSantis and Corcoran want to make a political case. Meanwhile, those superintendents whom Corcoran flayed Thursday will continue to focus on education and safety.
Rather than stand up for schools and students, the Board of Education became a prop for DeSantis and Corcoran. The seven board members are volunteers who are paid nothing. As they proved Thursday, that’s exactly what they’re worth.