Reshaped by Gov. DeSantis, Florida school boards embrace conservative agenda
MIAMI - Governor Ron Desantis has made reshaping education in Florida a priority, which includes who is elected and sits on county school boards.
There has been a shift in South Florida school boards and it's due in part to the governor's influence and groups like Moms for Liberty
The founders were former Florida school board members whose mission they describe as "dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating, and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government."
CBS 4 sat down with the woman who started the Miami-Dade chapter of Moms for Liberty, Laly Jimenez to talk about why she became an activist.
The holistic therapist is a mother of six - 4 grown children and a 13 and 10-year-old she homeschooled during COVID. She says the pandemic opened her eyes.
"I was shocked there were lockdowns, masks and all of a sudden the fear children would be kept apart from their parents scared me," she explained.
She says in 2021 she started looking at the Miami-Dade school curriculum and didn't like what she saw.
"Now there was an imbalance. My kids made to feel they owe something. Our country isn't perfect but there shouldn't be anything that makes a child feel inferior in any way."
Jimenez applauds the governor for his stance on parental rights and what he calls "indoctrination" of kids on how race and gender have been taught in public schools.
In Miami-Dade, the governor appointed Maria Blanco and Dan Espino to the school board.
He backed Roberto Alonso and Monica Colucci in the last election and he's set his sights on voting out another- 9th district member, Luisa Santos.
"Like most of us, I found out there was a list when it was published online."
Santos says, " I won't speculate on why my name ended up on the list. I don't want politics in education," she says.
According to the target list of school board members the governor wants replaced, Santos supported the mask mandate in schools during the pandemic.
Santos is up for re-election in 2024 and says she is concentrating on her wins.
She says eleven schools in her district have gone up a grade and she's helped steer funding to mental health and technology.
She says she has not heard of any parent complaining about teaching materials in her district but advises any parent who wants to raise an objection to report it to the school.
While no Broward County School Board member is on an election target list, the governor has played a role in reshaping that school board.
After replacing four members last year following a critical grand jury report, two of his picks remain on the board: Torey Alston and Daniel Foganholi.
Brenda Fam, also considered conservative-leaning, was elected to the Broward School Board last year.
The shakeup ultimately led Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, often at odds with the governor and his department of education, being shown the door.
In Miami-Dade, more changes are in store, according to Laly Jimenez.
"We are here to protect the children and parental rights," she says.
"We've been alarmed at what's going on we plan to be present."