Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended four Broward County school officials on Friday after a grand jury report slammed the board members and called for their removal for “neglect of duty and incompetence.”
The grand jury investigation was called by DeSantis to investigate the state school system's progress in implementing safety measures approved by voters four years before the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which ended with 17 people dead.
The Grand Jury report accused Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray, Laurie Rich Levinson, and Rosalind Osgood, of participating in “deceit, malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty and incompetence.” DeSantis then suspended Good, Korn, Murray, and Levinson. Osgood had already left her post as a school board member after being elected as a State Senator.
In a statement, DeSantis said, “It is my duty to suspend people from office when there is clear evidence of incompetence, neglect of duty, misfeasance or malfeasance.” The governor also added that “this action is in the best interest of the residents and students of Broward County and all citizens of Florida.”
The report accuses the board members of failing to hold school officials accountable, noting that the school safety project was scheduled to be finished in 2021 for $987 million but is now expected to finish in 2025 for $1.5 billion, a goal the grand jury questions will be met.
Levinson, despite not seeking reelection when her term ends in November called the move by DeSantis in a statement “un-American and undemocratic,” adding that his decision “is authoritarian-like and has no place in the United States of America where the voters decide who represents them.”
Levinson also noted that she and the other board members who were suspended had been reelected after the shooting.
Murray is also not seeking reelection, Good’s term is set to expire in 2024, and Korn is seeking reelection and is currently involved in a runoff for her seat.
The grand jury report was completed in 2021 but had not been released as the board members fought to have their names redacted before it was released publicly. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court declined the board members’ appeal, and the report was released to the public.
One of DeSantis’ first actions after being elected Governor in 2019 was to suspend Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel after a state commission cited failures in the police department’s response to the school shooting. Israel had also faced criticism for his department’s response to the Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting in 2017 that left five people dead. Israel is now the sheriff of nearby Opa-Locka, Florida.
DeSantis also made headlines earlier this month when he suspended Tampa prosecutor Andrew Warren after he was one of 90 prosecutors around the country who signed a letter stating that he will not prosecute any laws dealing with abortion. Warren also commented that he will not prosecute doctors performing gender affirmation surgery. Warren is suing DeSantis to be reinstated in his position.
That suspension was unexpected and has taken significant criticism for being politically motivated. This latest suspension was not unexpected after the grand jury report recommended the board members’ removal.
All four members, plus Osgood, whom DeSantis has already appointed a replacement for, were Democrats and female. DeSantis replaced all five with Republican men, flipping the political affiliation and gender makeup of the school board.
School boards are a hot-button political issue in Florida, with schools acting as the battleground for a variety of cultural and political issues.
The five men appointed by DeSantis are Torey Alston, Manual A. Serrano, Ryan Reiter, and Kevin Tynan. Alston previously served in the DeSantis administration as chief of staff at the Florida Department of Transportation. DeSantis previously appointed him to the Broward County Commission.