As difficult as it has been to educate the county’s public school children throughout a pandemic that refuses to go away, the struggles we’ve endured these past 18 months could’ve been far worse for our students and teachers.
This nightmare could’ve happened under the School District’s previous regime – with an obviously overmatched superintendent flailing and failing to provide the leadership needed by a rudderless School Board.
I shudder to think how that bunch would’ve mishandled such a daunting public-health emergency.
It’s our good fortune, however, to have the right people in place to make the tough decisions necessary to steer our school district through the COVID storm.
Not only are we blessed to have David Moore as our superintendent – his undeniable competence, poise under pressure and ability to adapt in the face of adversity have been on public display since COVID’s arrival here in March 2020 – but School Board Chairman Brian Barefoot has brought to his post the stature, professionalism and management style we sorely needed.
In addition, Barefoot has the benefit of working with two board members who possess years of experience in education and, more importantly, the wisdom and courage to put aside partisan politics and focus on our children’s best interest.
That slim majority, in fact, produced the board’s approval last week of Moore’s recommendation that students, from Pre-K through eighth grade, be required to wear masks in school when social-distancing wasn’t possible, unless parents provide doctors’ notes exempting their children for medical reasons.
It was a bold move, coming days before a Tallahassee judge torpedoed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wrongheaded executive order barring mask mandates.
The 3-2 vote also was taken in a chamber filled with members of our community’s vocal anti-mask minority, providing further proof that Barefoot and board members Mara Schiff and Peggy Jones have the mettle to stand up for their convictions and not be bullied into making bad decisions.
“A school board is supposed to be nonpartisan and put the children’s best interests first,” Moore said, “and having a group of individuals willing to do so when loud voices fill the room is truly rewarding.”
The mask mandate, however, might not be as unpopular as people think. According to Moore, an overwhelming majority of the emails that flooded the district’s administrative offices in the wake of the mask vote endorsed the board’s action.
“For every 100 emails I’ve received,” Moore said, “I’d say 90 are supportive.”
Barefoot and Schiff said they’re seeing similar numbers or better – which should surprise no one. Yet the local anti-mask mob continues to oppose the district’s mandate, which went into effect Monday.
The anti-maskers have accused the School Board of violating the law, even though a judge ruled that it was DeSantis who exceeded his authority.
During the latter half of the 2020-21 school year, they would repeatedly show up at School Board meetings, taking up countless hours of public-comment time verbally attacking the district’s leadership for imposing a mask mandate, spewing mostly nonsense from debunked or questionable sources.
So don’t be surprised to see at least a couple of the group’s more visible leaders try to wrest control of the school district by running against board incumbents and, if successful, running off Moore.
That would be a disaster for our district, which, on Moore’s watch, is finally moving in the right direction.
“He has done a really good job under challenging circumstances – and not just with the pandemic,” Barefoot said of Moore. “Look at what he’s accomplished with the teachers’ union, getting that three-year contract.
“The tone and cooperation within the district have changed dramatically since his arrival,” he continued. “He’s not perfect, but he’s got all the qualities you want in a leader, and he’s learning.”
For those who don’t know: Moore was on the job for only 44 school days before the COVID pandemic prompted the district brass to close schools, requiring him to adjust on the fly and devise a plan for virtual learning.
Even with that distraction, Moore continued to move the district forward, assembling a capable cabinet and addressing the need for improvements in academic achievement and tackling an embarrassing desegregation order that was handed down in 1967 but had been mostly ignored for five decades.
It’s a shame, really, that he also has been forced to deal with the anti-maskers.
“The stress and drama levels at our meetings have been so high,” Schiff said, “and they’ve been non-stop.”
While Moore acknowledges he occasionally becomes frustrated, he said he remains committed to his mission here and has no plans to walk away from a job he described as the “right fit for me.”
“You can’t be in these positions and have thin skin,” Moore said, adding that he stands by his masking recommendation.
Confronted with alarming COVID numbers locally, Moore did what any responsible superintendent should do – present a plan to slow the virus’ spread in schools – and three of the five board members put aside politics, and did what was best for our children.
“I get frustrated, too,” said Barefoot, 78, a former Indian River Shores mayor. “This job can be a pain, having people call you a liar and threatening you. But one of the reasons I ran for the school board was because I saw a lack of leadership.”
Most of us saw a clown show.
Barefoot’s board, however, continues to include a majority of members who have shown a willingness to make the tough calls necessary to allow Moore to lead the district through a seemingly endless pandemic.
So ignore the partisan critics.
We’ve got our best people on the job.
