A School Board Revolt in Florida Candidates endorsed by Gov. DeSantis win to control two big districts
Tuesday’s elections highlighted Republican midterm weaknesses (see nearby), but one exception was school board races in Florida. Conservatives flipped control of at least two big districts that had put unions ahead of children.
Twenty-five of the 30 school board members endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis won or advanced in their races, campaigning on parental rights, transparency, school choice and safety. GOP-backed candidates won three elections in Sarasota County, creating a new 4-1 majority. They also scored two big wins in Miami-Dade, which now becomes the largest U.S. school district with a conservative majority. Both school boards last year voted to mandate that students keep wearing masks, defying parents and Florida law.
The wins are a coup for Mr. DeSantis, who is turning parental control and educational choice into a GOP advantage. The elections are political vindication for his parental bill of rights bill that became law this spring that was widely criticized in the national press.
The Governor last year expanded the state’s voucher program to add tens of thousands of additional low-income students. Mr. DeSantis put these ideas to the voter test on Tuesday, working with Republicans and the 1776 Project PAC to raise money for reform candidates, and turning the school elections into the most competitive in memory.
Florida’s results follow parental revolts in school-board elections from San Francisco to Texas. Glenn Youngkin used education to win Virginia’s top job last year, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has used primary endorsements to oust state House Republicans who blocked her school-choice agenda.
Covid restrictions awakened parents to the failings of too many public schools and their entrenched union control. If Republicans want a positive message for the midterms, this is a good and popular one.
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