Florida Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t messing around and announced that he supports a bill in the Florida legislator that will cut $200 million in funding from 12 Florida school districts.
The bill is called the “Putting Parents First Adjustment” and is targeting the cutting of funds to the school districts in Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Sarasota and Volusia counties.
Those districts defied a DeSantis executive ordered and forced students to wear masks.
“What it does is, it rewards 55 school districts that followed the law, and holds the other 12 school districts accountable. What I would note, though, is that every school district in the state of Florida will be receiving an increase in funds under this budget. Those 12 school districts, the most you could say is their budget would not be increasing as much,” Randy Fine, R- Brevard County said.
On Feburary 15, 2022, DeSantis announced his support for the bill.
“Thanks to Speaker (Chris) Sprowls, Representative Fine, and the House of Representatives for heeding my call to protect students and teachers from accountability measures affecting union-controlled politicians and bureaucrats who defied Florida law by force masking kids. Most students didn’t want to wear masks in the first place! Let’s also give parents recourse for harms imposed on their kids due to this defiance. They should get compensated for academic, social, and emotional problems caused by these policies,” the Republican governor wrote.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 15, 2022
Unlike what the media would have you believe the funding being cut would not affect students. The bill would slash the salaries of school administrators who earn over $100,000 a year. Democrats argue that the bill would “hurt efforts to recruit and retain teachers.”
Christina Pushaw, Governor DeSantis’s press secretary, commented that there must be consequences for school administrations that broke the law.
They shouldn’t have broken the law by force masking children against parents’ wishes. This cut only affects salaries of school administrators over $100k so it is not “intended to educate children.” It will go to the 55 districts that followed the law. Actions have consequences.
— Christina Pushaw
(@ChristinaPushaw) February 22, 2022
