One of the 14 local school board members who Gov. Ron DeSantis has targeted for removal in next year’s election is Jennifer Jenkins, a 36-year-old elementary school speech pathologist who achieved a miracle in 2020 by defeating a far-right incumbent in a deep red Florida county by nine points.
The day before, the Florida Department of Education had posted a 216-page manual titled “Academic Standards—Social Studies, 2021.” The board, which is not elected but rather appointed by Gov. DeSantis and includes a Moms for Liberty member, listed a number of “clarifications” that should now be taught in the state’s schools.
Jenkins was invited to attend as someone who has been on the front lines of the culture wars as fought in her home county. The incumbent Jenkins unseated in 2020, Tina Descovich, has gone on to co-found Moms for Liberty.“They are moms for something, but not liberty,” Jenkins once remarked. The invitation to see Harris reminded her that even though she was the sole Democrat on her local school board, she has many allies. But Jacksonvile was a two and a half drive from her house in Satellite Beach and she had to scramble to get there. She first had to tell the other child’s mom that she was moving the playdate to her father’s house.Jenkins was on the way to Jacksonville when he got another call, this one asking her to introduce Harris at the event.
“We will have her growing up in a system that white-washes history and diminishes the contributions of African-Americans in our curriculum,” Jenkins said. “A system that seeks to erase the LGBTQ community from our student bodies, our faculty, and our libraries. A system that bans access to bathrooms before the weapons that murder our children in their classrooms.”“I would say to our visitors today, welcome, welcome to Florida.