Judge’s ruling unlikely to affect reopening plan for Manatee County schools

Manatee County schools reopened their doors to thousands of students last week. That was unlikely to change after a judge granted a temporary injunction against the state’s order to reopen brick-and-mortar schools on Monday afternoon.

According to Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, the order issued by state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran was unconstitutional because it “arbitrarily disregards safety.” The Leon County judge also said the order hindered local school boards from making their own decisions about reopening, and that it tied vital funding to their plans.

“This order will, however, pass constitutional muster if its unconstitutional portions are severed,” the judge wrote. “And it would still require local school districts to provide a high-quality education, under the circumstances — the circumstances being this horrible pandemic.”

Florida Education Association, the statewide teacher’s union, filed a lawsuit against Corcoran, Gov. Ron DeSantis and several others. On Monday, the judge granted FEA’s request for a temporary injunction against the reopening order.

On the first day of school in Manatee County, approximately 48 percent of students were expected to make a full return to the classroom, while 23 percent were enrolled in the hybrid schedule, a mix of in-person and online classes. In total, about 71 percent of students were expected to be on campus, whether it be full time or part time, throughout the week.

District spokesman Mike Barber said Manatee schools had no plans of retracting those on-campus options as of Monday afternoon.

“Right now, we’re just studying exactly what the ramifications of the ruling are,” Barber said. “Unless we get directives from the state, as of right now, we have no plans to change what’s being done.”

Charlie Kennedy, the school board’s vice chair, was the board’s most vocal critic of Corcoran’s order and the plan to offer in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Manatee’s reopening plan passed with a 3-2 vote last month, with Kennedy and board member Dave Miner dissenting.

Kennedy said the judge’s ruling was a victory for school boards and their right to local control. However, it was unlikely to have an impact on Manatee County schools, he continued.

“I don’t think this changes anything for us locally because the board has already made a decision,” Kennedy said on Monday.

Pat Barber, the president of the local teachers union, said she would be surprised if the order caused Manatee County schools to change course after reopening one week ago.

However, she said the order was an important milestone in the push against state leaders and their attempt to influence local officials.

“This injunction stops the over-reach by the state and allows school boards to make decisions without the threat of losing their funding,” Pat Barber said. “I think these decisions are best made by the local legislative bodies because they’re the only ones who know what’s happening locally.”

“I think it’s a very bad precedent for the state to be bullying and threatening local school boards to keep them from doing what’s right for the students,” she continued.

The state is expected to appeal, which would lead to an automatic stay of the ruling. The plaintiffs would then be likely to seek an order overturning the stay, and if that stay were removed, the order would stand, according to the Tampa bay Times.

This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 4:21 PM.