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The Florida Department of Education has threatened to withhold the salaries of the Broward County superintendent and school board members after the board voted to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order banning mask mandates in schools.
“This letter is sent to express my grave concern about the significant negligence of your district in response to the recently passed emergency rule,” wrote Richard Corcoran, the DOE commissioner, in a letter to the superintendent and chairman of the school board. The order, which Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees issued on August 6, clearly sets out “expectations to ensure that any mandatory mask policy imposed by a district or school” must allow a parent or legal guardian of the student to withdraw the student to wear a face cover or mask. ‘”
Corcoran said it would open an investigation, “demanding that you provide a written response by 5:00 pm on Friday August 13”. Depending on the results of the investigation, “I will be able to recommend to the State Board of Education that the department withhold funds in an amount equal to the salaries of the superintendent and all members of the school board,” he warned.
DESANTIS ADDS TEETH TO BAN MASK MANDATES IN SCHOOLS, THREATS TO ABOLISH SALARIES
On Tuesday, the Broward County School Board in the Fort Lauderdale area voted to maintain the school district’s mask tenure, which dates back to July 28. The delta variant of COVID-19 has triggered a further increase in coronavirus cases. The board voted 8 to 1 to keep the mandate in place, allowing exceptions for health and safety concerns.
“You can’t ignore this pandemic. It’s deadly, and it’s getting worse instead of getting better and the more we don’t use masks, the more we position the mutation of this virus to grow,” Rosalind Osgood, the president of the school board, said at a special board meeting on Tuesday. She then told CNN that she “would not take the risk of playing Russian roulette” with children who cannot get vaccinated.
Children are less likely to contract COVID-19, have severe symptoms, or die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC still recommends indoor face masks, physical distancing, and drug tests for schools.
The Florida Surgeon General’s Health Order does not require parents to submit medical documents from a doctor or nurse practitioner to opt out of mask warrants. DOE Commissioner Corcoran noted that because the rule invokes the Parents Bill of Rights, “it neither contemplates nor authorizes school districts to limit those rights by adding additional requirements in order to opt out and such requirement is incompatible with the rule of urgency.
“The actions taken today at the Broward County School Board meeting make it clear that you currently have no intention of complying with this ordinance,” Corcoran wrote. “There is no room for error or leniency when it comes to ensuring compliance with policies that allow parents and guardians to make choices about the health and education of their children. . “
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The order of the surgeon general followed that of Governor DeSantis Executive Decree last month, which effectively bars school systems from imposing mask warrants.
Some Republicans disagree with the DeSantis ban.
“I disagree with Governor DeSantis. Local officials should be in control here,” said Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., told CNN about the ban. “I’m a conservative. I think you rule better when you rule closer to the governed. What if a local community has their intensive care unit full and people in local schools see that they have to make sure that ‘they stay open because otherwise the kids miss another year of school and they put a policy in place, so local officials have to be listened to. This is a conservative principle. “
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