State follows through on school mask threat
The state is imposing its first penalties against school districts that don’t allow parents to opt their children out of mask mandates.
The state Board of Education on Friday alerted Broward and Alachua school board members that funding equal to their salaries will be withheld if they don’t change their stance within 48 hours, something Broward School Board members have shown no interest in doing.
Broward would potentially lose about $31,182 a month, which is equal to the monthly salaries of the eight School Board members who supported the mask mandate. The state will not withhold funding for the salary of board member Lori Alhadeff, the only member who voted against the mandate. School Board members make $46,773 a year.
Alachua would lose $13,429 a month, which equals the salaries of four School Board members who supported the mandate, the order says. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a fifth board member this week. Alachua School Board members make $40,287.
The penalties would end once the districts comply with the rules, the orders say.
“It is important to remember that this issue is about ensuring local school board members, elected politicians, follow the law,” Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said in a statement. “We cannot have government officials pick and choose what laws they want to follow . ... This is simply unacceptable behavior.”
Corcoran called the penalties the “initial consequences.” The State
Board of Education on Tuesday authorized Corcoran to explore other penalties too, including removing School Board members from office, conducting further investigations and preparing reports to the Legislature for possible action.
The orders say districts “may not reduce any expenditures other than those related to compensation for school board members.”
The orders do not call for withholding the salaries of superintendents, which Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran initially threatened.
The move comes as more school boards are defying orders by Gov. Ron DeSantis and two state agencies to allow parents to choose whether their children must wear masks in schools. School boards in MiamiDade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties have passed strict mask policies this week that require most students to comply regardless of their parents’ wishes.
The school districts say mask mandates are needed to protect student safety, given the skyrocketing rates of COVID-19 cases, the lack of a vaccine for children under 12 and current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
According to data released Friday, teenagers now have a higher rate of positive COVID tests than any age group in the state.
The Broward School Board reaffirmed its support for mandatory masks in a statement Friday. The statement pointed out that the board has voted to explore whether to challenge the state’s order in court.
“Our School Board feels the Governor is overreaching his authority,” according to the statement from board Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood. “The Constitution of the State of Florida gives local school boards the authority to make policies that govern local school districts . ... The safety and security of our students remain our highest priorities.”
The school district will provide its response to the state within 48 hours as required, Osgood said.
The two districts also must submit a report to the state identifying any students who have been disciplined for violating mask policies.
That includes any instances of a student “being sent home, reassigned, disciplined, suspended, isolated, stigmatized, warned or harassed” because the student failed to comply with the district’s “unlawful face-covering mandate policy.”
The number of students disciplined for mask violations wasn’t immediately available Friday afternoon.
Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, said she doesn’t think there have been any.
“We haven’t had a problem with kids not wearing masks,” she said. “No kids are being disciplined. They’re being asked to put the mask back on and that’s it.”
The Biden administration has indicated that it would provide financial support to districts whose funds get cut over the mask rules, including allowing the use of federal stimulus dollars.
Whether districts could take money from their reserves to make up for lost pay is unclear, but several School Board members say they plan to forgo the money.
“We knew this was a potential consequence when we voted,” board member Sarah Leonardi said. “If it means putting student safety and employee safety before my paycheck, I’m happy to do that.”
Leonardi said she’d accept money from the federal government only if it didn’t take away from funds that could help students. Board member Debbi Hixon said her preference would be to just not get paid.
“I don’t want it to come from anywhere else,” she said. “We teach students there are consequences for actions. When you do the right thing, you do it knowing what the cost is.”
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called Broward Superintendent Vickie Cartwright and Alachua Superintendent Carlee Simon on Friday to reemphasize the administration’s support.
“It is deeply troubling to see state leaders putting politics ahead of the health and safety of our students, and that instead of supporting our educators for doing the right thing, state leaders are trying to punish them,” Cardona said in a statement.
“Let me reiterate: We stand ready to assist any district facing repercussions for imposing CDC-recommended COVID-19 prevention strategies that will protect the health and safety of students, educators, and staff.”
Civil rights groups are heading to court to challenge the policy on mask mandates. A petition filed Friday in the 4th District Court of Appeal seeks a court order to invalidate the mask-related portions of the health department’s rule. It was filed on behalf of the NAACP and families in Palm Beach County with medically vulnerable members.
Fusco, with the Broward Teachers Union, pleaded for Biden to step in. “This is deplorable. They get elected to do a job,” she said of school board members. “They’re doing a job.”