The Moms For Liberty finally have done something meaningful to improve public education in our community: They’ve convinced School Board member Brian Barefoot to seek a second term.
The still-vibrant, 79-year-old former Indian River Shores mayor had been mulling a run for re-election next year, but he hadn’t yet committed.
Then came the list.
Last week – after collaborating with top Republican lawmakers and the leaders of the ultra-conservative Moms group – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced through FoxNews.com that he had compiled a list that targeted 14 school board members around Florida for defeat in 2024.
Barefoot’s name was on the list, along with that of School Board Chair Peggy Jones and incumbent board members from eight other counties. Almost immediately, his competitive juices began flowing and his decision to run was made.
He is expected to file the necessary paperwork with the Supervisor of Elections Office in the coming weeks.
“If they think putting me on this list is going to get rid of me,” Barefoot said, “they need to think again.”
Jones said she wasn’t surprised to be on DeSantis’ hit list, given that she had left the Republican Party and, as a no-party-affiliation voter, now considers herself to be “somewhere between a moderate Republican and conservative Democrat.”
Barefoot, though, was shocked, disappointed and appalled.
Not only is Barefoot among our community’s most prominent and respected Republicans, but he said he has attended fundraisers for DeSantis, voted for him twice, urged others in his vast circle of friends to vote for him, and donated to his campaigns.
And now our Republican governor wants him gone?
Merely because Barefoot has steadfastly refused to cave to the often-ridiculous demands of the intolerant Moms, who were co-founded by Tiffany Justice, the failed School Board member who chose to not run against him in the 2020 District 5 race because she knew she couldn’t win?
“DeSantis has been duped by these people and has allowed himself to be taken in by their narratives,” Barefoot said. “He has gone so far right that you can’t help but question his judgment.
“I guess his political advisors thought there was some benefit to this, and perhaps they’re right, but it’s not benefiting him here,” he added. “Over the last few days, it has had the opposite effect.
“The Moms For Liberty might’ve given him the names, but he’s going to get blamed for it.”
This is not DeSantis’ first endeavor into influencing the politics of public education, despite the Florida constitution mandating that school board races be nonpartisan. He endorsed 30 candidates in last year’s races, and 24 of them won, including flawed incumbent Jackie Rosario, who rode the governor’s backing to victory in our county.
Now, DeSantis wants voters to dump sitting board members whom he claims, according to Fox, “do not protect parental rights and have failed to protect students from woke ideologies.”
That, too, puzzled Barefoot, who actually did a Google search and found an array of definitions for woke.
“I’d like to know what they think ‘woke’ means,” he said, “and what puts me in that category.”
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler said the list targets school board members who have supported critical race theory and the “indoctrination stuff” in the schools, as well as those who pushed for mask mandates during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These are individuals that just don’t fall in line with the vision that we see for school boards – which is a pro-parent, pro-kids school board member, rather than being controlled by unions or pushing this leftist ideology onto our kids,” Ziegler was quoted as saying.
Our school district officials are adamant that critical race theory is not taught here, nor do teachers attempt to indoctrinate students. You can understand, then, why Barefoot, who is believed to be the lone Republican on the list, takes exception with being singled out by the governor.
Barefoot defended the temporary mask mandate our School Board imposed during the pandemic, saying, “We didn’t know what we didn’t know.” He also stands by the district’s process for reviewing school library books that the local Moms claimed were pornographic, and the opt-out policy offered to parents.
He wonders if DeSantis knows who’s on the list.
“Maybe he doesn’t, but he’s sure going to know in the next few days, whenever I get a hold of him,” Barefoot said, adding that he has tried to contact the governor.
In fact, Barefoot said he has been having conversations with several leading Republican donors, discussing the Moms’ influence on the governor, who continues to give the fledgling group credibility far beyond its political reach.
It’s ironic, really, that Justice and the Moms say, “We don’t co-parent with the government,” when that’s exactly what they’re doing, focusing almost exclusively on culture-war issues that have little to do with improving education and academic outcomes.
“Why aren’t the Moms For Liberty focused on going to Tallahassee to lobby the governor to get more money for teachers’ pay?” Barefoot asked. “Or for summer reading programs? Or to enable kids to go to summer school to catch up? Or to close the achievement gap for minority students?
Or to fight against gun violence in schools?
“Those are all important and legitimate issues that need to be addressed,” he continued. “Instead, they’re up there whining about mask policies that were imposed three years ago and yapping about library books that aren’t being checked out. They focus on this BS, and he’s listening to them.
“Where’s the focus on the kids?” he added. “It’s all focused on them. They don’t really believe in parents’ right. They believe in the rights of parents who agree with them.”
For the record: Barefoot said he agrees with some of the Moms’ goals and objectives.
“I disagree with their tone and tactics,” he said. “I’m all for parental rights, but I’m for the rights of all parents, not just a few who show up at meetings.”
Jones shared Barefoot’s position, saying, “I believe in parental rights, too, and I had great parental support when I got elected.”
A Republican when she ran, Jones said she abandoned her party affiliation after the race because she didn’t want politics to color her board decisions, adding that her “only loyalty is to the students.”
Jones said she’s concerned about the growing politicization of public education – the “new normal,” as she called it – but she will not allow the governor’s list to impact how she does her job.
“Being targeted is, to me, being bullied,” Jones said. “And anybody who knows about bullies knows you need to stand up to them. This is the first time I’ve been on a list like this, but it changes nothing. I’m going to continue to stand up for what I believe in.
“Besides,” she added, “if you need a governor to endorse you to win an election, then you’re not running on you. You’re running on somebody else’s platform. My constituents elected me because they wanted me to represent them, not because the governor told them to.”
What’s happening to Barefoot and Jones is the reason politics should have no place in our school board elections.
Jones’ performance on the board has been outstanding. She’s fair, honest and always prepared. If there were a Mount Rushmore of Indian River County school board members, she’d be on it.
Barefoot, who enjoyed a wildly successful career in investment banking and served as president of Massachusetts’ Babson College, has returned to the board a professionalism that was so sorely missing prior to his arrival.
We’re getting exactly what we expected when we elected them. They have disappointed no one who truly cares about our public schools and the children who attend them.
Somehow, though, Justice and the Moms have managed to convince DeSantis to target them for defeat next year.
“I’m getting calls from all over the state,” Barefoot said. “This could really backfire on them.”
