President Joe Biden called the interim school district superintendent in Broward County over the weekend to praise her for doing “the right thing” after the board implemented a mask requirement in defiance of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The White House said in a Saturday statement that the Democratic president had spoken with interim Broward Superintendent Vickie Cartwright in Florida and Phoenix Union High School District Superintendent Chad Gestson in Arizona “to thank them for their leadership and discuss their shared commitment to getting all students back in safe, full-time in-person learning this school year.”
“The President commended their leadership and courage to do the right thing for the health and well-being of their students, teachers, and schools,” the statement said.
Last week, the Broward School board voted to keep its mask mandate for students and staff despite a ban on such mandates imposed by the Governor.
The Biden administration has promised Broward federal money if DeSantis carries out a threat to withhold some state funds from the school district.
Using a law passed this year, DeSantis has barred schools and other local governments from imposing mask mandates. The governor has said he believes masks are not needed for children, who are less likely than adults to catch the coronavirus, and that they interfere with learning. He also has said it should be up to parents to determine if their child wears a mask. The state’s board of education recently said students forced to wear masks over their parents’ objections could be eligible for a voucher that would pay for their transfer to a private school.
The school board voted 8-1 to impose the mask mandate over DeSantis’ objection.
