A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis said a controversial order to reopen schools wasn’t his call, exactly.
“Well, first of all, I didn’t give any executive order,” the state’s chief executive said Monday in Orlando.
DeSantis asserted the order came from the Department of Education.
“They have a board, they do different things,” DeSantis told reporters during a question-and-answer session in which he seemed to suggest that on this issue, like the decision to close bars, political appointees somehow got to make unfettered calls about how large economic sectors will go, free of interference from the man who put them in place.
Interestingly, a member of the board itself wondered why the edict from Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran came without board deliberation. Most were more pliant, however.
DeSantis, a first-term Republican, continued a trend Monday of trying to distance himself from his previous insistence that schools be open, as was normal pre-coronavirus, five days a week.
While he wants the physical option, he said parents should be “free to choose” and instructors worried about exposure should feel emboldened to “teach virtually or maybe they take a sabbatical.”
The Governor, meanwhile, finds himself a long way from certitude.
“There is a need to open schools fully to ensure the quality and continuity of the educational process, the comprehensive well-being of students and families and a return to Florida hitting its full economic stride,” the order states.
Less than a week after the order was issued, DeSantis was unable to cogently defend it in a Bradenton news conference.
He left it to Senate President Bill Galvano to say that “school boards cannot ignore this order.”
The Governor, meanwhile, has attempted the soft sell of schools reopening, including saying that if his kids were school-aged, First Lady Casey DeSantis would happily send them to brick and mortar schools.
“My own wife, our kids aren’t school-aged yet, I tell her that they’re at zero risk, I have no problem putting them in, and I think that convinced her. She said she would do it too.”
9 comments
S.B. Anthony
July 20, 2020 at 1:26 pm
lol, another finger pointer, doesn’t want dead kids and teachers on his head
taking his cues from the fake impeached president
the buck stops with you, “gov,” it’s all on your watch
Frankie M.
July 20, 2020 at 1:33 pm
Not my fingerprints…is this what they taught you in Leadership 101? It’s clear that the present moment is too big for Ronnie & Donnie. Passing the buck has replaced football as the new national past time.
p.s. Will you sponsor my sabbatical Ronnie? Looks like you could use one yourself 😆 Next time those protesters get you shook have your fans yell FAKE NEWS to the cameras. If it ain’t broke…
Frankie M.
July 20, 2020 at 2:14 pm
Also Ronnie’s facial expressions during the interruption today were very similar to the other day when a reporter asked him about the passing of John Lewis. I bet he wishes he wore a mask now.
Carolyn
July 20, 2020 at 8:25 pm
Has he allowed either set of grandparents to see his newborn yet? That me to me would be a good indication of how he really stands on the coronavirus situation.
Patti Lynn
July 20, 2020 at 2:11 pm
It’s NEVER his fault!!
Same as when he appointed Temporary Tony as Sheriff of Broward County.
As soon as he started mouthing off to Municipal elected officials…as soon as it became known that he used LSD…as soon as it became known that he MURDERED someone when he was 14…as soon as it became known that he LIED on his Coral Springs application to be a Police Officer…as soon as it became known that he LIED on an FDLE application form, (why hasn’t his Law Enforcement Certificate been pulled???)…as soon as ALL of THOSE things happened, Governor DUHSantis said, “Well, it’s not like he’s MY Sheriff. I didn’t even know the guy.”
Right…you just listened to one person…right???? And that’s not YOUR fault either, right????
Sonja Fitch
July 21, 2020 at 2:51 pm
Exactly who is the Governor? You are the Governor! Today it was stated definitely that our children will be carriers of the virus! Mmm. Educational personnel are adults! Most have families with at least one adult! Do not use our children as an experiment to please paranoid delusional liar trump!
Ward Posey
July 20, 2020 at 2:48 pm
He is a coward of immense proportions.
KB
July 21, 2020 at 12:13 pm
Zero risk, seriously??!!!
jon
July 21, 2020 at 1:10 pm
God Bless DeSantis & DJT! Both men have had their hands full this first term in office dealing with this health issue 24/7 wile also being attacked by the pathetic home grown terrorists AKA demoRATS!
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