Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday suspended four members of the Broward County School Board for engaging in what the governor described as “incompetence, dereliction of duty and abuse of power.” “It is my duty to suspend individuals from office when there is clear evidence of incompetence, dereliction of duty, misconduct or misconduct,” DeSantis said in a news release. READ MORE: State grand jury recommends five Broward School members be fired. Read the report here DeSantis said the decision is in response to the findings of a statewide grand jury tasked with investigating the Broward School Board’s response to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 students and staff dead and 17 injured. “We are grateful to the members of the jury who dedicated countless hours to this mission, and we hope this suspension will bring the Parkland community another step toward justice,” DeSantis said. “This action is in the best interest of the residents and students of Broward County and all citizens of Florida.” DeSantis suspended Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray and Laurie Rich Levinson from their duties — and appointed Torey Alston, Manuel “Nandy” A. Serrano, Ryan Reiter and Kevin Tynan to replace them. The suspended board members are all women. The appointees are all men. The fifth school board member recommended for suspension was Rosalind Osgood, who no longer serves as a school board member in Broward County. Osgood, a Democrat, was elected to the Florida Senate in March. DeSantis’ office noted that Osgood is not subject to the governor’s executive suspension authority. READ MORE: Broward voters approve new tax hike for schools. Here’s who won for school board The announcement from the office of the District Governor states the following information about the appointees: ▪ Alston is a former Broward County commissioner and president of Indelible Solutions. ▪ Serrano is a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Sports Foundation and founder and CEO of Clubhouse Private Wealth. ▪ Reiter, is a Marine veteran and director of government relations for Kaufman Lynn Construction. ▪ Tynan, an attorney with Richardson and Tynan, previously served on the Broward County School Board and the South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners. This is breaking news and will be updated. This story was originally published on August 26, 2022 at 1:47 pm. Related stories from the Miami Herald
