Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took part in a school board campaign over the weekend, making stops in Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Volusia, and Duval counties in support of conservative school board candidates who back the “Students First, Protecting Parents’ Rights” education blueprint.
DeSantis has made school board races in Florida his priority, as the conservative movement recognizes such races as “ground zero” for the dawn of the “red wave.”
COVID-19 pushed parental rights into the spotlight following months of school closures and mask mandates at the hands of radical far-left school board members who looked to push woke ideology via Critical Race Theory into virtual classrooms.
The Florida Governor took action to prioritize in-person learning while rooting out toxic ideologies like CRT.
Change at a local level
Earlier this month, Sarasota school board vice chair Tom Edwards encapsulated the bold agenda of the ‘woke’ left after asserting leftist school board members were “working from the inside” to indoctrinate children:
Sarasota’s Bridget Ziegler, a DeSantis-endorsed school board member, told Breitbart the left adheres to a playbook to enact their radical agenda behind closed doors.
“There is a playbook, and, what I think so many people have now realized, as the result of the great parent awakening after COVID, the same playbook that happens in Sarasota County happens across the state and happens across the country,” she said.
“And it’s largely based on indoctrinating local policy officials all the way down to professional development [given] to the educators, and that trickles down to indoctrinating our students with a very left, progressive agenda,” she added.
“Florida has led with purpose and conviction that our school system is about education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said in a statement.
“Our education agenda is focused on protecting parental rights, curriculum transparency, and keeping classrooms free of woke ideology. Across our state, Floridians are ready for local school boards who promote education, not indoctrination,” he continued.
“It was great to be in these counties to share our bold agenda for education ahead of the important election on August 23,” he added.
DeSantis released this list of school board endorsements across the state:
Al Hernandez – Pasco County
Armor Persons – Lee County
Chad Choate – Manatee County
Christy Chong – Flagler County
Cindy Spray – Manatee County
Colonel Richard Tatem – Manatee County
Darren Horan – Monroe County
Erin Skipper – Clay County
Jacqueline Rosario – Indian River County
Jaime Haynes – Volusia County
Jennifer Russell – Martin County
Jill Woolbright – Flagler County
Robyn Marinelli – Sarasota County
Sam Fisher – Lee County
Stephanie Busin – Hendry County
Phil Leary – Putnam County
Mildred Russell – Alachua County
Megan Wright – Brevard County
April Carney – Duval County
Charlotte Joyce – Duval County
Aly Legge – Hillsborough County
Roberto Alonso – Miami-Dade County
Monica Colucci – Miami-Dade County
Bridget Ziegler – Sarasota County
Timothy Enos – Sarasota County
Fred Lowry – Volusia County
Alexandria Suarez – Monroe County
Stacy Hahn – Hillsborough County
Patricia Rendon – Hillsborough County
Rick Nolte – Polk County
Election Day is Tuesday, August 23.
