Posted on 08/27/2022 7:15:01 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he would be suspending four members of the Broward County School Board for their "incompetence, neglect of duty, and misuse of authority" at Marjory Stonemason Douglass High School.
In a press release, the governor’s office stated that Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray and Laurie Rich Levinson had been suspended following the recommendations of the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury. DeSantis has been particularly active in education, going as far as endorsing school board members in their races across the state, and enacting laws on curriculum transparency and parental rights.
"Even four years after the events of February 14, 2018, the final report of the Grand Jury found that a safety-related alarm that could have possibly saved lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 'was and is such a low priority that it remains uninstalled at multiple schools,’ and 'students continue to be educated in unsafe, aging, decrepit, moldy buildings that were supposed to have been renovated years ago,’" the press release states. "These are inexcusable actions by school board members who have shown a pattern of emboldening unacceptable behavior, including fraud and mismanagement, across the district," the press release continued.
"It is my duty to suspend people from office when there is clear evidence of incompetence, neglect of duty, misfeasance or malfeasance," said DeSantis. "The findings of the Statewide Grand Jury affirm the work of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Commission. We are grateful to the members of the jury who have dedicated countless hours to this mission and we hope this suspension brings the Parkland community another step towards justice. This action is in the best interest of the residents and students of Broward County and all citizens of Florida."
In their place, DeSantis has appointed Torey Alston, former Commissioner of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and President of Indelible Solutions, Manual "Nandy" A. Serrano, member of the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors, Ryan Reiter, a US Marine Corps Veteran and Director of Government Relations for Kaufman Lynn Construction, and Kevin Tynan, Attorney with Richardson and Tynan, who previously served on the Broward County School Board and South Broward Hospital District, to take the suspended members’ places.
In February of 2019, the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury was impaneled by the Florida Supreme Court following the fatal shooting at Marjory Stonemason Douglas High School where 17 people were killed.
The Statewide Grand Jury was requested to examine four issues, "including whether public entities and school officials committed fraud and deceit by mismanaging funds devoted to school safety," the governor’s office stated. The final report from the jury found that these specific board members had mismanaged the SMART Program, a multimillion-dollar bond that was created to address school safety and renovation initiatives.
"The Statewide Grand Jury also found that the Board was aware of serious problems with the SMART Program, including former Superintendent Runcie’s inability or unwillingness to manage those problems, yet did not take action," the governor’s office stated.
The jury recommended the suspension of the four school board members, and had noted a fifth member, Rosalind Osgood, who no longer serves on the board and is therefore not subject to the Governor’s executive suspension authority.
Holding public figures accountable for their actions.
What a refreshing concept.
Doing the Lord’s work.
America’s Governor continues to kick ass and take names.
Should be fun to hear what that little prick David Hogg has to say about this.
Many FReepers are probably aware that the Penalty Phase in the trial of Nicholas Cruz is now underway.
I have been watching portions of the testimony,
In the media there is the mantra:
“””The Mental Health System FAILED Nicholas Cruz””””
To the contrary it is my observation that:
“””The Mental Health System CREATED Nicholas Cruz””””
Actually the Grand Jury empowered in 2019 by the Florida State Supreme Court came to this conclusion and Gov. Desantis followed rhe law.
My comment stands.
I wish all Republican Governors would wield their power like DeSantis does!
I don’t know if a lot of Governors have that kind of unilateral power. FL seems unusual in that respect.
It sure does. My comment is directed at all the reports implying Desantis just did this unilaterally.
Let’s hope other elected leaders begin to follow his lead and (finally) begin to show some integrity.
Lot of Democrat filth in Broward.
I’ve never heard of it in any other state. Does anyone know if there is one?
I follow the Governors speeches on his Rumble site and they post every speech he gives.
https://rumble.com/c/GovRonDeSantis
Yes, it would not be asking too much for elected republicans to show integrity and do what they say, drawing clear lines between the two parties. We would be in a much better place if pushovers like McConnell, McCarthy had this same basic decency that Desantis delivers to his voters
“””My comment is directed at all the reports implying Desantis just did this unilaterally.”””
“””In a press release, the governor’s office stated that Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray and Laurie Rich Levinson had been suspended following the recommendations of the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury.”””
The Grand Jury ‘recommended’ suspension. DeSantis followed through and did the suspension.
“””I’ve never heard of it in any other state. Does anyone know if there is one?”””
I suspect many States give similar powers to their Governors. The problem is that far too many Governors are reluctant to use the powers. Too many politicians are weak.
The problem is, so many Republican governors and other elected officials FAIL to take advantage of the powers and legal authority they have. I’m sure you know this, and that was the point of the op’s comment.
Even Trump - how many people who ended up doing him and the nation great harm - were within his ability to remove from office, yet he did not do so? Maybe for good reasons we’re not always aware of (legal ones, for instance) but sometimes the reasons are purely political, and that stinks.
This is where DeSantis stands out - even though he had the legal authority he could have decided it would be a political liability to remove these school board members and not used it. But he had the courage and integrity to do it even in an election year.
Nicholas Cruz is so nuts he actually believes he's going to get out of prison. He says he wants to "help people" after he's released.
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