Ron DeSantis Threatens To Withhold Paychecks of School Admin Officials Who Impose Mask Mandates

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is not backing down from his stance regarding the imposing of mask mandates in schools, which he said that he opposes.

Today, DeSantis announced that the Florida Board of Education could withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who defy his executive order prohibiting mask mandates.

In a statement to CBS4, his office said:

“With respect to enforcing any financial consequences for noncompliance of state law regarding these rules and ultimately the rights of parents to make decisions about their children’s education and health care decisions, it would be the goal of the State Board of Education to narrowly tailor any financial consequences to the offense committed. For example, the State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of law.”

“Education funding is intended to benefit students first and foremost, not systems. The Governor’s priorities are protecting parents’ rights and ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.”

The top statewide elected Democrat and DeSantis’ potential opponent for next year’s Governor race, Nikki Fried, seized upon the news to use harsh rhetoric to criticize DeSantis.

“Defunding schools and school administrators for refusing to endanger children is third-world dictator level dangerous. This should alarm everyone in the country, not just Florida,” Fried claimed in a tweet.

Defunding schools and school administrators for refusing to endanger children is third-world dictator level dangerous. This should alarm everyone in the country, not just Florida. https://t.co/YlqkbA8SHL

— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) August 9, 2021

DeSantis has previously said of his decision to issue the executive order, “Parents have the fundamental right to raise their children, health, and well-being. That has to be respected by the state at all levels of government.”

“We believe that this should be a parent’s choice, and I think it flows from that bill. As a parent, I would like that choice, and a lot of these kids have recovered from COVID and there’s no scientific justification to put these kids to put it on in the first place to begin with,” DeSantis added.

Yesterday, we reported that U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voiced his disapproval of DeSantis’ stance on the mask mandates, suggesting that localities should be in charge of it.

In states like Virginia, however, the Governor has issued decrees that localities should follow the CDC’s recommendations, which are that all students should wear masks.