‘Student Power’ group spotlights gun positions of conservative School Board candidates

Election Day voting has begun in Florida, but an activist group is still sounding the alarm about allegedly anomalous candidates for School Boards around the state, with mail pieces asserting that the conservatives want teachers to carry guns at school.

“Florida Student Power Network is sending out mailers targeting three Moms for Liberty-aligned school board candidates who continue to push weird partisan culture war issues instead of addressing what students need to be successful,” the group announced.

“Kimberly Beltran who is running in Miami-Dade District 9, Jeni Grieger who is running in Orange County District 6, and Mary Blanco who is running in Miami-Dade District 7, all support faculty and staff carrying guns in schools and weirdly obsess over the private lives of students and teachers.”

It’s unclear how viable all these candidates are, based on a review of fundraising information.

Beltran raised a little more than $25,000 this election, less than 1/7 of what her opponent, Luisa Santos, brought in. Santos is the youngest incumbent in the history of the Miami-Dade School Board.

Blanco, endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, raised more than $190,000 in a four-way race, but Maxine Tuchman raised more than $300,000.

Grieger, who raised a little more than $47,000, likewise was well behind Stephanie Vanos in her race.

“Beltran, Grieger, and Blanco are all part of the DeSantis and Moms for Liberty slate of candidates who intend to take over our schools and turn them into right-wing indoctrination centers,” said Paula Munoz, the Executive Director of Florida Student Power Network.

“According to state data, it’s a failed agenda that has led to just 53% of Florida students reading on grade level or above. As students, we want our elected officials to stop being weird and unserious. That means prioritizing public education funding and well-resourced schools, not discriminatory anti-LGBTQ policies, book bans, and more guns in schools.”