DeSantis committee gave $2.1M to Florida school board candidates

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said his political committee spent about $2 million to support county school board candidates in this year’s elections.

DeSantis endorsed 30 conservative school board candidates in the nonpartisan races, most of whom chalked up wins. Speaking at an event Monday in Orlando, DeSantis said his Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee helped pay for advertising for his preferred candidates.

“We did a couple million dollars, $2.1 million of support, for text messaging, mail pieces, robocalls, all that stuff,” DeSantis said. “All we were doing — it wasn’t rocket science — we were just educating our voters about who shared our values and who didn’t.”

DeSantis’ focus on school board politics came after high-profile clashes with boards during the past two years, based on issues such as student mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, 2022 election wins helped create conservative majorities on school boards.

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