The grievance was filed on Thursday with the Workplace of Administrative Regulation Judges after the state DOE stripped funding from the Alachua and Broward County public college districts, each of which had masking necessities in place.
In whole, greater than $525,00 has been withheld from Broward County Public Colleges and greater than $190,000 from Alachua County Public Colleges, in line with the Florida DOE.
That funding comes from the salaries of board members and a federal grant that was supposed to guard college students from the unfold of COVID-19 at colleges, in line with the grievance. The federal grant supplied greater than $147,000 and $420,000 in Alachua and Broward respectively.
In an electronic mail to The Hill, the Florida DOE mentioned it was “vital to do not forget that domestically elected officers can not choose and select what legal guidelines they observe.”
The e-mail continued: “Because of their blatant refusal to observe the legislation, the Florida Division of Training has withheld an quantity equal to 1/12 of the full annual compensation of every college board member till such time because the boards reveal compliance.”
The Florida DOE additionally mentioned that when the “districts reveal compliance with state legislation, the withheld funds can be disbursed.”
Florida has been the topic of points surrounding masks and vaccine necessities all through the pandemic. On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sued the Biden administration over its COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal contractors. DeSantis has additionally prohibited necessities for any proof of vaccination within the state and has banned colleges from requiring masks.
The Hill has reached out to representatives from the Alachua and Broward County college districts for remark.
