Ron DeSantis: ‘Parents Will Make Their Voices Heard’ on Election Day

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JULY 22: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Turning Point USA St
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) participated in an all-out school board campaign blitz on Sunday, days ahead of the primary election, making stops in Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Volusia, and Duval counties to support conservative school board candidates who support the “Students First, Protecting Parents’ Rights” education blueprint.

The governor has prioritized school board races in the Sunshine State, as the conservative movement has largely recognized those local races as “ground zero” for the beginning of a red wave. The Chinese coronavirus thrust parental rights into the spotlight after months of school closures and mask mandates at the hands of far-left school board members, who all the while sought to continue to pump virtual classrooms full of woke ideology via Critical Race Theory (CRT) and radical gender ideology.

DeSantis, along with the Florida legislature, took action to prioritize in-person learning while rooting out toxic ideologies such as CRT. However, the governor has recognized that change largely begins at the local level.

Sarasota school board vice chair Tom Edwards perfectly encapsulated the brazen agenda of the left earlier this month when he proudly asserted that leftist school board members are “woke” and “working from the inside” to indoctrinate children:

Sarasota’s Bridget Ziegler, a DeSantis-endorsed school board member who is up for reelection, told Breitbart News that the left adheres to a playbook to enact their radical agenda behind closed doors.

“There is a playbook, and, what I think so many people have now realized, as the result of the great parent awakening after COVID, the same playbook that happens in Sarasota County happens across the state and happens across the country,” she explained.

“And it’s largely based on indoctrinating local policy officials all the way down to professional development [given] to the educators, and that trickles down to indoctrinating our students with a very left, progressive agenda,” she added.

“Florida has led with purpose and conviction that our school system is about education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said in a statement following the tour.

“Our education agenda is focused on protecting parental rights, curriculum transparency, and keeping classrooms free of woke ideology. Across our state, Floridians are ready for local school boards who promote education, not indoctrination,” he continued.

“It was great to be in these counties to share our bold agenda for education ahead of the important election on August 23,” he added.

DeSantis released a lengthy list of school board endorsements across the state. The list includes:

Al Hernandez – Pasco County
Armor Persons – Lee County
Chad Choate – Manatee County
Christy Chong – Flagler County
Cindy Spray – Manatee County
Colonel Richard Tatem – Manatee County
Darren Horan – Monroe County
Erin Skipper – Clay County
Jacqueline Rosario – Indian River County
Jaime Haynes – Volusia County
Jennifer Russell – Martin County
Jill Woolbright – Flagler County
Robyn Marinelli – Sarasota County
Sam Fisher – Lee County
Stephanie Busin – Hendry County
Phil Leary – Putnam County
Mildred Russell – Alachua County
Megan Wright – Brevard County
April Carney – Duval County
Charlotte Joyce – Duval County
Aly Legge – Hillsborough County
Roberto Alonso – Miami-Dade County
Monica Colucci – Miami-Dade County
Bridget Ziegler – Sarasota County
Timothy Enos – Sarasota County
Fred Lowry – Volusia County
Alexandria Suarez – Monroe County
Stacy Hahn – Hillsborough County
Patricia Rendon – Hillsborough County
Rick Nolte – Polk County

Election Day is Tuesday, August 23.

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