Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Prayers, Tears And Flowers

February 17, 2019

Alyssa Alhadeff. Scott Beigel. Martin Duque Anguiano. Nicholas Dworet. Aaron Feis. Jaime Guttenberg. Chris Hixon. Luke Hoyer. Cara Loughran. Gina Montalto. Joaquin Oliver. Alaina Petty. Meadow Pollack. Helena Ramsay. Alex Schachter. Carmen Schentrup. Peter Wang.

http://www.northescambia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/floridaweeklly.jpgWith heavy hearts, Florida paid homage Thursday to the 17 victims of the state’s deadliest school shooting with candlelight vigils, music and art to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Florida’s Old Capitol all week was bathed in a glow of orange, to serve as a “token of hope and a pledge that the Parkland 17 will not be forgotten,” Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said last month when she asked Gov. Ron DeSantis and her Cabinet colleagues to support the colorful tribute.

The governor and First Lady Casey DeSantis joined Fried, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, House Speaker José Oliva, Senate President Bill Galvano and dozens of legislators for a somber ceremony Thursday morning, as a National Guard member rang a bell 17 times.

The DeSantises later laid flowers at the Parkland school and attended a vigil at a nearby park where hundreds of other mourners prayed, wept and sang.

“On this solemn day, our state mourns the lives of the 17 souls lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one year ago. Since that tragic day, the Parkland community has demonstrated tremendous courage and resiliency, reminding us just how strong and united Floridians can be in the face of such devastating loss,” DeSantis said in a statement. “We will never forget the heroes who risked and sacrificed their lives to protect others, nor the actions taken that day by first responders. Casey and I continue to keep the families and loved ones of the innocents who were lost in our prayers as we honor their memory today in a moment of silence.”

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, was among the slain students, stood behind DeSantis as the bell tolled in the Capitol courtyard.

For the grieving father, this Valentine’s Day didn’t carry any greater significance than any other day since the unthinkable happened.

“This is everyday life, for every parent who loses a kid like I did. We live it every single day,” Pollack told reporters.

SCHOOL SAFETY PROBE ORDERED

On the eve of the shooting anniversary, DeSantis — flanked by numerous family members of the Parkland victims — asked the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate whether school districts are complying with mandatory safety measures designed to protect students.

DeSantis called the statewide grand jury “something real,” and said he intends the state to heed “whatever recommendations they have for us.”

Since taking office last month, DeSantis has taken a number of high-profile actions to address the horrific Parkland shooting.

On his first week on the job, DeSantis suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, accusing the law enforcement official of “neglect of duty” and “incompetence” related to the shooting. Israel is appealing the suspension, but a recently released report by a state commission found fault with the sheriff’s office’s handling of the attack by confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school with a long history of mental health problems.

Angry parents and other critics, including Pollack, also called on DeSantis to oust Broward County Superintendent of Schools Robert Runcie. But the governor said he does not have the authority to remove the schools chief because Runcie is an appointed official.

A statewide grand jury is “the best tool that we have” to explore possible wrongdoing by school districts throughout the state, DeSantis, a Harvard Law School graduate, said Wednesday. The probe will be at least the third statewide investigation into the Parkland shooting, which is also the subject of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement inquiry.

The governor asked the statewide grand jury to explore “whether refusal or failure to follow the mandates of school-related safety laws … results in unnecessary and avoidable risk to students across the state;” whether public officials committed — and continue to commit — fraud and deceit” by accepting state money conditioned on implementation of certain safety measures; whether public officials committed fraud by “mismanaging, failing to use, and diverting funds from multi-million-dollar bonds specifically solicited for school safety initiatives;” and whether school officials violated state law by “systematically underreporting incidents of criminal activity” to the state Department of Education.

Lawmakers last year created the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, which spent months investigating the shooting and issued a report in January.

But unlike that commission, the grand-jury investigation won’t be limited to Broward County or the events surrounding the mass shooting, the governor said.

“It is multi-jurisdictional. But I think it’s something that is warranted. I think it’s something that may lead to potential accountability measures by a grand jury. But it could also lead to, and I think it will, lead to recommendations about what some of the various school districts could do better. They can provide information to the state of Florida, and we can then take action,” he told reporters.

‘GUARDIAN’ PROGRAM COULD EXPAND

A Florida Senate panel responsible for shaping statewide education policies advanced a sweeping school-security package on Tuesday that would make it easier for districts to participate in a controversial “guardian” program and would allow classroom teachers to be armed.

The Senate Education Committee approved the proposal (SPB 7030) on a 5-3, party-line vote. The vote came after the panel agreed to amend the measure to allow law-enforcement officers to serve as school safety specialists instead of requiring school district employees to fill that role. The revised bill also would put school superintendents in charge of appointing “guardians.”

The school guardian program, part of a law passed in response to the Parkland shooting, allows school personnel whose primary duties are outside the classroom to carry concealed weapons after going through extensive training.

Under current law, county sheriffs must sign off on the guardian program for school districts to implement it. The Senate measure approved Tuesday would give school districts the authority to implement the program.

While most of Tuesday’s two-hour debate focused on the contentious guardian program, the proposed package includes an overhaul of other school-safety measures.

Senate Education Chairman Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, called the proposal “monumental” and said it was crafted to include most of the recommendations made in a 458-page report by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.

The commission overwhelmingly favored expanding the “guardian” program and recommended strengthening school requirements to report crimes and other safety-related incidents, as well as sanctions for superintendents who under-report such incidents.

“One year ago this week, we made a commitment to the students and families of Parkland that we would do everything in our power to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. … So I am very pleased this critical school safety legislation gets to the heart of the commission recommendations,” Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said in a statement.

But Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who is chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, questioned the policy of allowing armed teachers.

“We’re at the verge of considering a monumental change in public education,” Montford said. “We are shifting the mission of public education from being one of teaching to being one of teaching and law enforcement.”

STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Ron DeSantis was among the many mourners who participated in memorials marking Thursday’s one-year anniversary of the state’s deadliest school shooting in which 17 students and staff members were slain and 17 other victims were injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “For today to be any different, it’s not. Every day is the same pain, from when you wake up until when you go to sleep.” — Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was among the 14 students killed last Valentine’s Day during a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida

Comments

Comments are closed.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News