The Alachua County School Board, one of the school districts with mask requirements, was awarded $147,719 in grants under the Project to Support America’s Families and Educators (Project SAFE) grant program, the Education Department announced. The school board is the first to receive the award under the program that was created to help school districts facing financial penalties by implementing “strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance” such as masking, according to the department.
“We should be thanking districts for using proven strategies that will keep schools open and safe, not punishing them. We stand with the dedicated educators in Alachua and across the country doing the right thing to protect their school communities,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement issued Thursday. “With these grants, we’re making sure schools and communities across the country that are committed to safely returning to in-person learning know that we have their backs. I commend Alachua for protecting its students and educators, and I look forward to working with them to provide students their best year yet.”
Dr. Carlee Simon, superintendent for Alachua County Public Schools, thanked Cardona and President Joe Biden on Thursday.
“We’re going to fight to protect parent’s rights to make health care decisions for their children. They know what is best for their children,” Corcoran said in a statement at the time. “What’s unacceptable is the politicians who have raised their right hands and pledged, under oath, to uphold the Constitution but are not doing so. Simply said, elected officials cannot pick and choose what laws they want to follow.”