The Florida State Board of Education could withhold the salaries of public school officials who defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates, his office said Monday.
A statement from the Republican governor’s office offered the withholding of paychecks owed to superintendents or school board members as a prospective means of enforcing a July 30 order that blocks locally enacted masking requirements for school children. His order already directed the state’s education commissioner to withhold funds from school boards that choose to impose requirements.
“With respect to enforcing any financial consequences for noncompliance 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,” the statement said.
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“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 law,” the statement added.
The statement elicited a defiant response from Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
“We have established a process that requires consultation with experts in the areas of public health and medicine. We will follow this process, which has served us well, and then make a final decision. 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,” Carvalho said. “I want to thank the governor for recognizing that students should not be penalized.”
DeSantis has rebuked the Biden administration for its latest wave of coronavirus-related policies, including its recommendation for universal masking in schools and indoor masking among the vaccinated as the delta variant spreads across the country.
“If you’re coming after the rights of parents in Florida? I’m standing in your way,” he said in a Wednesday speech, adding he is going to “stand in your way and stand up for the kids in Florida.”
The Monday statement from the governor’s office further pitched the governor’s anti-mandate policies as pro-student and pro-parent.
“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,” the statement said.
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Biden administration officials, including President Joe Biden himself, have targeted DeSantis over his pandemic posture over the last week, suggesting he is obstructing a necessary response to increasing COVID-19 cases in Florida and elsewhere.
“I say to these governors: Please help. But if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way,” Biden said in a speech last Tuesday, referring to DeSantis and Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has similarly restricted local mandates.
Several Florida districts have imposed mandates despite DeSantis’s order.
