DeSantis appointed William “Scott” Ramsey, a rancher and businessman to the post vacated by former member Erika Booth on Friday, July 19.
Booth resigned to run for the Florida House. Ramsey is running for the school board seat along with three others: Brian Bennett, Paula Bronson, and Dylan J. Reinsel.
University of Central Florida’s Aubrey Jewett said the governor’s decision to fill the seat with Ramsey now just weeks before the August 20 election, even though it’s been empty for six months, is raising some eyebrows.
He said while voters will ultimately decide, the governor’s approval could sway the results in Ramsey’s favor.
“When you do that, you open yourself up to criticism that you're trying to put your finger on the scale for the voters. Rather than just saying, okay, let the voters decide who's going to do it,” Jewett said.
Since the COVID pandemic, Jewett said DeSantis and the Republican majority legislature have increasingly become involved in school board races.
He said they see it as a way to push an agenda in schools that is aligned with new laws limiting how race and sexuality, among other issues, can be taught in schools.
“He is trying to create a Republican conservative state. And one way to do that is to do it from top to bottom. And that includes local governments and especially school boards,” Jewett said.
To that end, an amendment on the November ballot, Amendment 1, would allow school board races to be partisan. They have been nonpartisan in Florida since 1998.
Governor Ron DeSantis has also appointed another school board member, Brett Hinely, to the Okaloosa School Board. The governor endorsed 23 candidates for school board races across Florida.
In Central Florida, that includes Derek Barrs in Flagler County, Donna Brosemer in Volusia County, Matt Susin in Brevard County and John Thomas in Brevard County.
In 2023, DeSantis in conjunction with Moms for Liberty, rolled out a “hit list” of fourteen candidates who he would target in their school board races this election as they didn’t align with his agenda for schools.
In Central Florida, names on that list include current school board members Jennifer Jenkins in Brevard County, and Anita Burnette and Carl Persis in Volusia County.
Here's the text of Amendment 1:
