The Office of Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida Board of Education could withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who defy his executive order prohibiting mask mandates.
Here is the statement the Governor’s office released to CBS4:
With respect to enforcing any financial consequences for non-compliance of state law regarding these rules and ultimately the rights of parents to make decisions about their children’s education and health care decisions, it would be the goal of the State Board of Education to narrowly tailor any financial consequences to the offense committed. For example, the State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of the law.
“Education funding is intended to benefit students first and foremost, not systems. The Governor’s priorities are protecting parents’ rights and ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.”
Last month, DeSantis outlawed mask mandates by individual school districts, however, many are defying the governor’s ban, including Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, and Leon counties, per the Tallahassee Democrat.
And there is now definitely a standoff between the governor and some school districts – particularly after 135 children were reported as being hospitalized with the coronavirus on Sunday.
In early August 2020, as most Florida schools offered online learning options, Florida was reporting an average of 11 pediatric admissions a day. In the first week of August this year, the state averaged 49 new pediatric admissions a day.
Two school superintendents are reportedly very defiant over the ban on masks in school. In Leon, Florida, superintendent Rocky Hanna said that “you can’t put a price tag on someone’s life, including my salary.”
And according to News7, “At no point shall I allow my decision to be influenced by a threat to my paycheck,” said Miami-Dade’s Alberto Carvalhoa.
For the first time since February, the U.S. is now reporting an average of more than 100,000 cases per day. COVID-19 deaths are also on the rise, averaging 454 daily fatal cases, with close to one-fifth of those deadly cases from Florida.
