Commissioner of Education recommends withholding School Board Members’ salaries for violating parents’ rights

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a letter today to Alachua County School Board Chair Sarah Rockwell, requiring her to attend the August 20 State Board of Education and recommending that School Board Members’ salaries be withheld after Vice Chair Tina Certain told deputies to remove a parent from the July 31 meeting.

During general public comment, about 30 people spoke in support of Rockwell after she apologized for posting “One less MAGA in the world,” referring to the death of Hulk Hogan; however, the room erupted into chaos after a man who identified himself as Jeremy criticized Rockwell and other board members: “You know what you said, and you should step down.”

Vice Chair Tina Certain, who was chairing the meeting after Chair Sarah Rockwell handed the gavel to her because Rockwell is still recovering from surgery, told the next speaker, Gainesville City Commissioner Casey Willits, to wait because she was having Jeremy removed. Deputies approached Jeremy, who argued that he had the right to be in a public meeting, and the audience started jeering and telling him to leave. Board Attorney David Delaney advised against removing Jeremy, and Certain announced that he could stay. The audience began chanting, “Get out! Get out! Get out!” Faye Williams stood up and started yelling, “This is our meeting! Get out!” Willits handed her the microphone. Williams continued yelling into the microphone that Jeremy should be removed, including, “He’s a white supremacist, so put his a** out!”; after about a minute of yelling, the meeting went into a recess to restore order.

After a few minutes, it was announced that Jeremy could stay but was choosing to leave “so that we can continue with the meeting.”

Watch the video here (time stamp 1:53:28):

Today, Kamoutsas posted on X, “If the Alachua County School Board thinks they’re going to violate parents’ first amendment rights at school board meetings, they’re in for a rude awakening. Given the circus at the latest meeting, my recommendation is that the State Board of Education withhold the entire school board’s salaries until they follow the law and respect parental rights in Alachua.” The letter can also be found at that link.

In his letter, Kamoutsas wrote to Rockwell, “Your recent unprofessional conduct has been brought to my attention. You made disparaging comments about the death of a conservative public figure, leading the public to lose confidence in your ability to treat all students and families fairly.”

Kamoutsas wrote that his concern was “reaffirmed by your decision to allow the rights of a parent defending a conservative position to be violated” at the meeting. The letter continued, “Your conduct during this meeting was inexcusable. You should be ashamed of your failure as a board member, let alone the board chair.”

Kamoutsas said Rockwell “sat idly by while the police were directed to escort this parent out of the school board meeting for expressing a conservative viewpoint… [T]he rest of the board stood by silently, failing to stop it. Because the board did not stop the First Amendment violation from occurring, all members should be held accountable for creating an environment where citizens’ constitutional rights are under attack.

“Let me be clear, by publicly humiliating this parent for his views, you’ve created a chilling effect on all parents with similar beliefs. You’ve signaled that certain viewpoints are not welcome in Alachua County Public Schools, and that should alarm every family in your district. Between your public comments and your actions last night, your lack of judgment and poor decision making has brought negative attention to Alachua County Public Schools on a national level… Since the Alachua County School Board has publicly failed to ensure free expression of all viewpoints during public comment, I have found probable cause that a violation of state law has occurred.”

Kamoutsas recommended that the State Board of Education withhold from the district an amount equal to the salaries of all board members and said Rockwell is required to attend the August 20 meeting of the State Board of Education “to demonstrate your compliance with state law. You will need to explain what correction actions have been taken to restore parents’ rights in Alachua County Public Schools.”

Kamoutsas also recommended that Rockwell not apply for renewal of her expired teaching certificate: “Florida educators must uphold the principles of ethical conduct and demonstrate the maturity and professional judgement necessary to work with children. Considering I will not permit you to hold a Florida teaching certificate, I think it’s time for some reflection on whether you are properly equipped to serve on the Alachua County School Board.”