Records detail dispute over Santa Rosa school reopening

“Sure! FYI Gov wants schools open on Tuesday,” Education Commissioner Henry Mack texted Barber on Oct. 11. “We will need to aim for that.”

That exchange is among hundreds of pages of records, including text messages and emails released by the school district Oct. 20. The records show Mack relaying what he described as the governor’s wishes, sending Barber a prepared press release setting a reopening date for Oct. 14.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has since said that he never mandated school districts to do anything, adding that the district was slow to clean its schools and state crews found local campuses locked.

A district log in the records shows school employees reached 17 campuses by 11:30 p.m. Oct. 12 and waited anywhere from an hour to 11 hours for state cleaning crews to arrive.

The school district voted Oct. 13 to keep schools closed until Oct. 19, a date that Barber originally proposed.

“Santa Rosa students are back in class, safely and that was the goal,” said Travis Jordan, the Department of Education’s chief communications and marketing officer, in a statement to the Santa Rosa Press Gazette Oct. 22. “The Commissioner’s message never changed: safety first, and the state is ready to help.”

The department said the goal Mack shared came from DeSantis himself, pointing to an Oct. 11 news conference in East Milton that the state was “keying in on that Wednesday” but would not bring children to unsafe schools.

Jordan also pointed to Barber’s own words. Her Oct. 11 email thanked Mack for his “support and leadership,” and her Oct. 12 meeting summary said, “Again, we appreciate the assistance.”

In a written statement to the Santa Rosa Press Gazette Oct. 21, the district said Barber told the DOE on Oct. 11 that schools needed more time to reopen safely. Asked if Barber took Mack’s text as a directive, the district pointed to her statement on Oct. 12 that she had been directed to open schools Oct. 14.

“Barber remains proud of the School Board’s decision and believes it was absolutely the right choice for students, staff, and families,” wrote the district.

Records released by the district show no messages between DeSantis and Barber and no written order to reopen.

At 12:29 p.m. Oct. 11, Mack sent Barber an announcement written in the district’s voice. It said Santa Rosa County District Schools “is committed to resuming normal operations on Wednesday, Oct. 14.”

That announcement, according to the DOE, was sent to all school districts affected by the storm.

Mack said he wasn’t insisting that the district use it but offered it up for the district to use. The district never used the release written by the state, but did include the date written in the DOE release for when schools would reopen.

At a briefing in East Milton the same day, DeSantis said schools could reopen Oct. 14, but safety would still be a priority. A day later, Barber said at a briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Milton that the district, “Under the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education,” would reopen schools on Oct. 14.

That afternoon, Mack texted Barber that the governor was requesting a call within the hour. The records do not show who was on that call or what was said. The Santa Rosa County commission chairman said there was a call and that he was there during the call as the county representative but did not go into specifics of what was said on the call.

As for school operational status, Barber emailed Mack, state Sen. Don Gaetz and Department of Education official Paul Burns that 33 of the district’s 36 schools had no power. She also wrote that children would have to walk past debris piles to reach bus stops.

“This is a recipe for tragedy,” she wrote, adding that Oct. 15 is a more realistic target.

Mack replied within 30 minutes, saying that “We can solve for this.”

“Safety is the priority. Do not force it at the expense of safety but do not forgo the additional help the state is able/ready/willing to provide NOW,” he wrote.

The two sides differ on what happened on the night of Oct. 12.

The DOE said that when the state’s Division of Emergency Management (DEM) needed access to schools, district staff said they were “too tired” and would “rather wait” until morning, which would cost up to 12 hours of work.

On the night of Oct. 12, Barber told Mack and Burns that district staff would meet state cleaning crews within the hour at 17 schools that had power. The log, written by school district purchasing director Travis Fulton, shows staff arriving between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m., with state crews arriving between midnight and 9:30 a.m. Oct. 13.

The longest wait, 11 hours, was at Chumuckla Elementary. At Pace High, staff waited 10 1/2 hours, the district confirmed.

The DOE said the state DEM assembled a team within an hour, completed five schools by 7:53 a.m. and had nine repaired, cleaned and cleared as safe by 9:46 a.m., with crews headed to 14 more schools.

Responding to criticism by DeSantis, the district said in an email that employees “worked tirelessly” to prepare campuses while dealing with storm damage at their own homes.

On Oct. 13, the department’s emergency management director, Dexter Harris, told the district crews could not get into five schools, saying there was no access at three and “extensive damage or gas leaks” at two. Fulton told the state that night that East Bay K-8’s gas leak was repaired and Hobbs Middle was ready to be cleaned.

A 5 p.m. state status report that day listed High Road School as having denied crews access. The district said no crew had to wait to be let into the school the night of Oct. 12 or the morning of Oct. 13.

At the Santa Rosa County School Board meeting on Oct. 14, Barber reiterated that the Monday, Oct. 19, reopening date was her original opening date. Board Attorney Terry Harmon said district policy already lets the superintendent close schools in an emergency.

Schools reopened Oct. 19 with 93.7% attendance across 36 campuses, the district reported.

Barber said Oct. 16 that conversations were still ongoing about makeup dates.