The Florida House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that will enact term limits on elected public school board members. CS/BS 1467 by State Representative Sam Garrison (R-Middleburg) originally included a provision that would have eliminated salaries for school board members. However, that provision was axed after a late-arriving amendment.
The bill passed largely along party lines by a vote of 78 in the affirmative and 40 in the negative.
Garrison said there is “value” to the school districts and students to the regular turnover.
“There’s a value in having turnover in all levels of government, and school boards are no exception,” Garrison said on a House floor debate. “If you’re a non-charter county, you couldn’t have term limits on your school board if you wanted to.”
During a floor debate from Thursday, Garrison also said his bill will provide transparency in schools for parents of the students. The bill requires all library and instructional materials to be accessible through an online inventory. In order for materials to be approved for use, the bill stipulates it will have to go through a review process with a mandatory public hearing.
“What this bill is seeking to do is provide transparency to reinforce for parents the security and the confidence that comes with knowing that they can drop their kids off at the local library and be comfortable,” Garrison said. “They want to encourage their kids to go to the library.”
State Representative Susan Valdes (D-West Park) , stood in opposition to the bill. She served as a school board member in Hillsborough County and said her experience in the district determined her stance on the bill.
“It’s important to understand that term limits do not always work when it comes to helping children achieve their goal,” Valdes said. “I got to tell you, I don’t believe this bill is needed. There are committees standing here right now in our districts, that, once a complaint is made there is a clearly delineated procedure that school boards have to follow and that committee is not comprised of school district personnel or the media specialists.”
Garrison, when asked about complaints filed against school boards, said that school boards would have to use “their best judgment” in assessing complaints.
The topic of school boards and education has garnered much attention during the legislative session largely because of the year-long battles between the state and local school districts regarding Critical Race Theory and COVID mandates.
The Florida Capital Star reached out to the Alachua, Broward, and Leon School Districts, all of whom defied Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) mask mandate ban, for their comments on CS/HB 1467. The Florida Capital Star did not receive an immediate response.
The bill now will make its way through the Florida Senate.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Sam Garrison “by Sam Garrison. Background Photo “School Board Meeting” by KOMUnews. CC BY 2.0.
