PINELLAS COUNTY, FL. – The Pinellas Democratic Party has called upon the Pinellas County School Board to require all students to wear masks to protect children and their families from the significant surge in pediatric COVID cases.
Lucinda Johnston, Chair of the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee, wrote, “the board must take action now to protect our children from the explosive surge in COVID cases among children in the state and the county.”
Johnston said the Pinellas Party has joined with Democrats in Hillsborough and Orange counties calling for school boards to take action against surging COVID infections.
“We need for these school boards to push back on Governor DeSantis’ bullying tactics and protect our children and our communities. Our school board was elected to provide for the education and well-being of our children, and DeSantis’ anti-science stance is a campaign stunt for his extremist political base,” said Johnson in a release.
“DeSantis’ political ambitions and bungled COVID-19 response contributed to the deaths of our grandparents and parents. Evidently, he’s ready to sacrifice our children, too,” Johnston said.
On July 30, Governor DeSantis was joined by Florida parents, students, elected officials, and community leaders as he called for a stop to school mask mandates, reinforcing that every parent should have the right to choose what is best for their child.
At the event, DeSantis announced that he would issue an executive order directing the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to enter rulemaking in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to protect parents’ freedom to choose whether their children wear masks.
“The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Many Florida schoolchildren have suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their children.”
“Today’s action is in response to several Florida school boards considering or implementing mask mandates in their schools after the Biden Administration issued unscientific and inconsistent recommendations that school-aged children wear masks,” said DeSantis’ office in a statement in July.
The Pinellas County School Board meets on August 24 at 10:00 AM.
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I suggest everyone in Pinellas county show up at the school board mtg and let them know we will not stand for this tyranny of the school system. Those who want to wear masks teachers and students alike can make their choice!
Who’s the bully? Not the Governor, but the school board whom wants to force the mask mandate.