Florida has stripped federal funding from two counties that was supposed to offset penalties put on them by the state of Florida over their mask mandates:
POLITICO – The Florida Department of Education this week stripped local school boards of federal aid money over their masking policy, directly defying the Biden administration, which cautioned the state against the sanctions.
Florida officials yanked the federal grant money for Alachua and Broward counties that was meant to offset penalties for enacting a local mask mandate just one day after the U.S. Department of Education warned that the move would violate requirements in federal law, a clear sign that the state and feds are still at odds over Covid-19 policies.
School leaders in Alachua claim the state made the cuts to their October budget before the federal money even arrived, taking funding away from supporting students.
“I am appalled that the state would penalize the district by pulling funding we have not even received,” said Carlee Simon, Alachua County Public Schools superintendent, in a statement Wednesday.
The move by the state signals that there’s no conclusion in the fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and local school districts that have attempted to implement mask requirements. At one point during the summer, the conflict has pitted the governor against 13 school districts — including five that were in GOP-leaning counties — as well as the Biden administration, which had promised to financially support school districts that faced financial penalties for enacting mask mandates.
Currently, only a handful of school districts, including Alachua and Broward counties, are attempting to require masks in schools. Other counties reversed course after facing penalties from the state and seeing Covid-19 caseloads decline.
The U.S. Department of Education claims that pulling the federal grants from school boards would lead to Florida “failing to comply” with federal requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. But Florida education officials classified that message as “harassing and legally hollow,” indicating the state would move full speed ahead with sanctioning school boards with mask mandates.
The Florida Department of Education on Tuesday deducted $164,505 from Alachua’s October budget allocation, a total that includes the monthly salary of school board members and the entire share of a $147,717 grant promised by the Biden administration, Simon said.
DeSantis banned mask mandates in schools earlier this year and told them there would be stiff penalties if they took the choice away from parents. It appears the Biden administration was trying to thwart DeSantis by using federal money to cover their penalties.
If I were good at meme’s, I’d put DeSantis’ face on Gandalf in the scene where he is on the bridge and declares “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”. That’s essentially what happened here.