Tuesday was swearing-in day for the Miami-Dade and Broward County school boards.
School board seats are non-partisan in Florida, but everyone knows who’s conservative and who’s liberal based on what issues they emphasize.
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In Miami-Dade, the balance of conservatives to liberals stayed the same, five to four, with board members backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis holding the majority.
In Broward, the two board members appointed by DeSantis are gone, and this afternoon, the board unanimously elected a new chair.
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Debbi Hixon steps into the leadership role and Sarah Leonardi is the new vice chair. Within minutes of Hixon taking the gavel, there was a dust-up, with board member Brenda Fam objecting to a code of conduct resolution.
“I’m the only conservative on this board so it wouldn’t take long to get a majority to silence me, and I’ve already been silenced on several occasions,” Fam said.
The resolution allows the board to censure a member if the majority thinks that person has behaved inappropriately. It passed eight to one.
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This morning at Dillard High School, three incumbents and two new board members took their oaths of office, replacing the two DeSantis appointees.
“We may not always agree, but I’m confident that we all share the goal of continuing to move our A-rated school district in a positive direction,” said Maura Bulman, who now represents District One.
“We’re gonna address a nationwide mental health crisis that’s affecting all of our students, and we’re not only going to maintain our 'A' rating but provide an A-rated school experience for every child that walks through our doors,” said Rebecca Thompson, who is now the school board representative for District Two.
In Miami-Dade, four incumbents were sworn in, along with newcomer Joe Geller, and they emphasized cooperation, not political divisions.
“Entrepreneurs, educators, attorneys, different approaches, different strengths, I think that’s really kind of a perfect balance for positive policy development,” Geller said, describing the group of which he is now a member.
“We vote together 95% of the time on the things that move MDCPS forward for the benefit of our students,” said DeSantis-endorsed board member Danny Espino.
Both school boards are trying to project an air of collegiality. Debbi Hixon said on Broward’s new board, all opinions will be respected.
“They were all elected, I can say that now, and they’re the voice of their district so they should have the opportunity, whether we agree or don’t agree on it, to say what they think is valuable for the conversation,” Hixon said.
