Santa Rosa Schools
Gulf Breeze attorney Dennis Green, the parent of a Santa Rosa County student, says Florida Education Commissioner Henry Mack was threatening to use a power he does not have, according to a statement issued Tuesday night. Green was responding to my report that Mack told Superintendent Karen Barber he would order the Florida Highway Patrol to “break down your doors” if schools did not reopen.
“If that report is accurate, the Commissioner does not know what he is talking about, and what he threatened is never going to happen.”
Who has the authority. Green says the law does not support what Mack reportedly threatened.
- A judge’s order is required. “Nobody breaks down the doors of a public school on the Commissioner’s say-so,” Green said.
- The sheriff enforces it. Green says Florida law gives that job to the county sheriff, not the Highway Patrol.
- Mack does not command FHP. Green says troopers answer to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
“He was threatening to use a power he does not have, through an agency he does not run, in a way the law does not allow,” Green said.
“It is bullying.” Green also condemned the tone of the reported threat, given that the district is still recovering from Hurricane Isaias.
“Threatening to break down the doors of our schools is not leadership. It is bullying.”
Local control. Green pointed to the Florida Constitution, which he says gives each county’s school board the authority to operate, control, and supervise its own schools. “The people who make that call should be the ones who can see these campuses with their own eyes,” he said. “Several of our schools had no power this week. Families still have no water. Our teachers and district staff worked 15-hour days, and they deserve respect, not ridicule.”
Green’s warning: He says he stands with the Santa Rosa Conuty School Board and Superintendent Barber. If Mack or the Governor tries to override the board’s decision, he says he will file for an injunction.
- Threatening Santa Rosa’s school funding
- Issuing an executive order
- Sending in law enforcement
“Our children’s safety is not a political deadline,” Green said.
Where things stand. The Santa Rosa County School Board voted 5-0 to keep schools closed through Friday, Oct. 16. Classes resume Monday, Oct. 19.
Green is a Florida attorney with the Law Office of Dennis Green in Pensacola.