(NewsNation) — After nearly all of the 30 school board candidates he endorsed in recent elections have won their races, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis now wants to help elect more conservatives.
DeSantis announced his intentions to get more Republican representation on school boards at an event this week called the “Freedom Blueprint.” A representative for the governor told NewsNation that parents, current DeSantis-endorsed school board members, teachers and potential future conservative school board candidates attended.
These moves to influence school board careers by DeSantis are unprecedented. Local school board races are usually nonpartisan.
But in the Freedom Blueprint, DeSantis said school boards have not reflected the values of the communities “they were supposedly elected to serve.”
“We are proud of what we were able to accomplish in school board races in 2024,” he said. “I think this gives us an opportunity to change more of these boards across the state of Florida.”
A DeSantis effect has already been felt in several Florida school districts. NewsNation previously reported that the conservative school board leaders elected this year have been removing school leaders for their handling of COVID-19 mandates. During the pandemic, DeSantis was very vocal in criticizing most of the restrictions intended to stop the spread of the virus.
Republican strategist Jennifer Nassour said it’s been good to see a governor take an interest in this level of elected office.
“It’s about time Republicans figured out that this is a great way to build our bank of future political leaders,” he said on “Morning in America.” “Unless we have different political views on school boards, on planning boards, on your water commission, unless we have different views, we’ll never get to the right answer. It’s always going to be majority rule, and the smallest voices are silenced.”
However, others have criticized DeSantis’ participation in school board elections. Brevard Public School Board member Jennifer Jenkins, a Democrat, called the governor’s education policies “extreme” and “intrusive” in an interview with npr.
“I think overall, he is creating a regime of loyalists to create a platform that he can brag about as a ‘success,’ unquote, when he runs for president in 2024,” Jenkins told the news outlet. While it has been widely speculated that DeSantis could run for president, he has not officially announced one.