Florida Superintendents Give Ron DeSantis Blistering Responses After Governor Threatened Their Pay Over Mask Mandates

BOOM!!!


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Recently, we reported on Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ newest cruel idea — when the Trump-loving GOPer announced that any school board members or superintendents found to be mandating masks for their school districts amid the blazing COVID-19 pandemic would be in danger of losing their pay after DeSantis pushed a bill not that long ago banning any mask mandates in the state.

It seems the Florida MAGA man once again has a complete disregard for the health, safety, and well-being of his own constituents, even children, as the Delta variant takes over the southern state with little resistance from the governor.

However, teachers, board members, and superintendents are pushing back — many of which have moved forward with mask mandates in their districts, in an effort to keep their children and staff as safe as they can, Ron’s ban be damned.

In fact, some Florida superintendents are making it crystal clear to Ron DeSantis that he doesn’t give a damn what the governor thinks, says, or threatens — their schools come first.

According to a new report from Tampa Bay’s Fox 13, the superintendent for the school district in Florida’s capitol said that students and staff in his schools will be mandated to mask up in the building, regardless of what Ron DeSantis and his recent ban have to say.

In a live stream announcement, Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna made it clear that children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade will be required to mask up when Tallahassee classes resume this week. His mandate does allow exceptions for children with a physician’s or psychologist’s note, but it does now allow parents to opt-out of masking their kids as DeSantis demanded.

“I did a lot of soul searching, a lot of thinking,” Hanna said of his decision. “If, heaven forbid, we lost a child to this virus, I can’t just simply blame the governor of the state of Florida. I can’t.”

And the Tallahassee superintendent wasn’t alone in his decision.

A report from CBSMiami claims Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ superintendent Alberto Carvalho refused to back down on mask mandates for his school district, despite DeSantis’ threats to his salary.

Speaking with CBSMiami Carvalho, who serves as head of the fourth largest school district in the state, said he would be following a “process” and consulting with public-health experts to make a decision on whether or not his school district will be mandated to wear masks.

“At no point shall I allow my decision to be influenced by a threat to my paycheck, a small price to pay considering the gravity of this issue and the potential impact to the health and well-being of our students and dedicated employees,” he blistered in response to DeSantis’ threats.

And the challenges to DeSantis’ threats and executive orders don’t end with these two superintendents.  According to CBSMiami:

School districts in Duval County in Jacksonville, Leon County in Tallahassee, and Alachua County in Gainesville, have all challenged the governor’s order, citing the rise in COVID-19 related hospitalizations fueled by the delta variant. In a statement, the Leon County school district says it will exempt students who have a note from a physician or a psychologist, but it doesn’t give parents the authority to opt out, as DeSantis wanted.”

The fact of the matter is, Floridians know they can’t rely on their governor to keep them safe and protected amid this catastrophic pandemic. Superintendents and board members are well aware that it’s up to them to keep their kids and staff safe, consequences or not.

Featured image via screen capture 

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