A Florida school board candidate lost his race. DeSantis appointed him to the board anyway

By KATE PAYNE The Associated Press

FILE - Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign event on May 31, 2023, in Salix, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Charlie Neibergall]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida school board candidate who lost his race in a county south of Jacksonville will get a seat on the board anyway, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped him to fill a vacancy.

Derek Barrs will take an open seat on the Flagler County School Board in northeast Florida, succeeding a member who resigned in September, allowing DeSantis to appoint a replacement rather than the seat going on the ballot for voters to decide.

Barrs is a consultant with infrastructure design firm HNTB and a retired chief of the Florida Highway Patrol who campaigned with a focus on school safety and student achievement. He won DeSantis’ endorsement in his bid for the board but lost his Aug. 20 race by 290 votes to Janie Ruddy, a former teacher in the district.

DeSantis has done more to influence local education policies and politics than any Florida governor in recent memory. In the name of “parental rights”, DeSantis has banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and limited what Florida schools can teach about racism and U.S. history, and he’s both endorsed a slate of his preferred candidates and targeted incumbent members he wants voted out.

“Derek is a candidate who is committed to fighting for schools to get back to the fundamentals,” DeSantis said in his endorsement of Barrs. “Derek has pledged to serve on the school board with a focus on student success, parental rights, and curriculum transparency.”

In an interview with The Associated Press, Barrs pushed back on the assertion that he might owe DeSantis his political allegiance on the board, saying he’s focused on building relationships across the community and improving outcomes for all students.

“I don’t owe anybody anything,” Barrs said, “other than working for our students every day and making sure that they have the best quality education possible in our school district.”

Under state law, the governor can appoint someone to fill a vacant state or county seat if there’s less than 28 months left in the term for that office.

It’s not the first time a DeSantis-endorsed school board candidate has lost their race and been elevated into office anyway.

In August, the governor tapped Daniel Foganholi for a slot on the State Board of Education after he lost his bid to keep his seat on the Broward County School Board by more than 30%. DeSantis had appointed Foganholi to the Fort Lauderdale-area school board two times, though Foganholi never won an election to the body.

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Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.