Masks will be required by all students and staff in the Broward County Public School district when classes begin on August 18.
During a special meeting, the Broward School Board voted 8-1 to keep a mask mandate in place, defying the orders of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Tuesday’s meeting came after the Broward School Board initially said they would implement a mask mandate before DeSantis issued his executive order banning such mandates. DeSantis also threatened to cut the funding of school districts in the state that went ahead and required masks for students.
School Board Chair Dr. Rosalind Osgood said the governor put her and the entire board in a position to choose between their salaries and the lives of students and staff.
“I have to choose people. They are [the] priority, and whatever the consequence is for loving and caring about people and wanting them not to be impacted and killed by a pandemic or have their life negatively impacted by a pandemic is a price that I’m willing to pay,” Osgood said.
In addition, the School Board authorized the District’s Interim General Counsel to take legal action to challenge the governor’s order. There is no word yet on just how much money Broward Schools could potentially lose by imposing a mask mandate. But Interim Superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright said the cut in funding will be detrimental for the district and its students.
“The executive order he wrote is very broad so it could go to multiple levels. He could cut all of our grant funding, it could be any type of funding that runs through our local government, so it could be detrimental to the school district,” she said.
Other school districts in South Florida have also made it clear that they will not be bullied by the governor. Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ superintendent Alberto Carvalho said he would consult with public-health experts to decide whether students should wear masks. In Palm Beach County, students returned to school on August 10, wearing masks.
