Florida school superintendent who defied DeSantis on COVID masks is ousted

GAINESVILLE — A Florida school superintendent who defied Gov. Ron DeSantis on pandemic masks for students has been fired by the local school board.

The 3-2 vote to terminate the contract of Carlee Simon came late Tuesday night by the Alachua County School Board.

A key vote for termination was that of board member Mildred Russell, who was appointed in August by the Republican governor to replace a member who did not live within her district.

In a statement prior to the vote, Simon called it retribution for her stance against DeSantis and his opposition to mask mandates in Florida schools. Alachua County was one of about a dozen districts that risked loss of state funding by requiring masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The unprecedented partisan attack on what should be nonpartisan officials is compromising the education of county children,” Simon said.

The Alachua County School Board chairperson, Robert Hyatt, said there are more problems facing the system that a new superintendent could better tackle.

“Things are not working for our school system,” Hyatt said during Tuesday night’s meeting.

The board appointed the deputy superintendent, Donna Jones, as a temporary replacement with a March 15 vote planned on a new superintendent.