In response to the approval of former Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran as Commissioner of Education by the State Board of Education, LWV of Florida President Patricia Brigham issued the following statement:

As the League expressed to the State Board in our Dec. 7th letter, even if the Board ultimately agreed with Governor-elect Ron DeSantis‘ recommendation for the post of Commissioner of Education — which they clearly did — the Board still had a duty to the children and parents of Florida: to conduct a thorough search for qualified candidates from around the state and country, as they have done in the past.

Few things are as important as the education of our children. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding this appointment do nothing to alleviate the concerns of everyday Floridians that this is simply, “politics as usual.”

All the same, we look forward to meeting and working with Commissioner Corcoran to work on public education policy that will benefit all Floridians.