Governor Ron DeSantis stopped in Sarasota as part of his "Education Agenda Tour," and he touched on several topics like veterans in the classroom and COVID-19 mandates. He also encouraged the crowd to get out and vote.
"November’s going to be important, but we’ve got some work to do this Tuesday," Governor Ron DeSantis said.
Ahead of the Primaries on Tuesday, several school board candidates, backed by DeSantis, opened up the event with a quick speech on why they say they’re the best candidate.
The governor said school districts should educate and not indoctrinate. He said districts do not supersede the rights of parents.
“Parents, and I think students, and I think Floridians want our school system to be about educating our kids, not indoctrinating kids," DeSantis added.
Kate Danehy-Samitz is the founder of Women's Voices Southwest Florida.
“Teaching kids what to think and not how to think is indoctrination and not vice versa," Danehy-Samitz said.
She helped organize a protest in response to the governor’s support of Sarasota school board member Bridget Ziegler.
“We feel very strongly that the school board is supposed to be a non-partisan body and that being considered, you know, DeSantis has absolutely no business coming to town to try and get people riled up to vote for her. It’s concerning on many levels, and we decided to do something about it," Danehy-Samitz explained.
We’ve reached out to democratic Gubernatorial candidates Nikki Fried and Charlie Crist on their response to the governor's tour.
Fried told ABC Action News:
"Governor DeSantis is investing his political resources into campaigns that should clearly stay nonpartisan. When I'm governor, I'll certainly support candidates for school board, but the criteria for my support won't be political alignment, it'll be their ability to ensure our students are receiving the best education possible, and that Florida teachers and staff are supported by their school boards in the best way possible."
Meanwhile, Crist said:
“Under Governor DeSantis, Florida’s students are starting off the school year down 9,000 teachers and staff members. And new laws he’s pushed have politicized our classrooms, making the job even harder. Not only has he failed students, but he’s failed our educators every step of the way. Now he’s taking a victory lap on his four years of failure—it's unconscionable."
However, the governor expressed the importance of voting conservative come Tuesday.
“If I could have a conservative majority on every school board in the country, we would be in such good shape," DeSantis said.
