School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) Vice Chair Tina Certain attended Thursday’s Florida State Board of Education meeting, where she had the chance to address questions from board members regarding a controversial Facebook comment she made about the late Charlie Kirk. 

Kirk, a conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. 

His death sparked prayer vigils throughout the country, including on college campuses such as the University of Florida. Additionally, thousands of people also attended a memorial service for Kirk on Sept. 21 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. 

Certain referenced the service in her comment, which she made on her personal Facebook account.  

“I didn’t watch any of that Dump rally! I went to see an elder bcs the weight of it all…,” she wrote, while also referring to Kirk as a “31-year-old uneducated white boy” who “has been glorified. 

“He has a organization bcs a millionaire gave him money & connections to start it. To see the feds & state elevate him angers me,” she said on the post.  

State board members initially addressed Certain’s comment at their Sept. 24 meeting, in which they also discussed other recent incidents involving SBAC members and Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS). 

During that Sept. 24 meeting, Board Chair Ryan Petty told Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas that he would like Certain to come before the state board at its next meeting (Thursday) to answer some additional questions from members. 

“I, quite frankly, am of the opinion that somebody [who] would write that [comment] and post it on Facebook doesn’t belong on a state board or any district in the state,” he said at the Sept. 24 meeting.  

Gary Edinger, an attorney representing Certain, sent a letter on Monday to Kamoutsas stating that her comment is protected by the First Amendment and that the state board “does not have the authority to compel” Certain’s attendance at the meeting. 

“The board lacks the power to issue subpoenas and is not authorized by statute to conduct investigations or adjudicate offenses,” Edinger wrote, adding that Certain will attend the meeting “voluntarily to answer those questions which she deems prudent to address.” 

Certain reiterated those comments in Edinger’s letter in her opening remarks at Thursday’s meeting.  

“I came to this meeting not as an employee of the [Florida] Department of Education (FDOE), but as a locally-elected official chosen by the voters of Alachua County to serve on our local school board,” she said. “I am not representing the entire board. I came as one member.” 

Certain also defended her comment on Kirk, calling it “constitutionally protected speech.” 

“My personal Facebook comment, while frank and imperfectly worded, was constitutionally protected speech,” she said. “It expressed a viewpoint on the rhetoric of Charlie Kirk, a public figure whose statement and influence were widely debated. And while there are awards being given out now, there are a good sector of society who do not hold him in high regard for the things that he stood for. And I’m one of them.” 

Certain fielded several questions and concerns from state board members, including a few related to her reference of Kirk as an “uneducated white boy.” 

“The uneducated white boy was rhetoric,” Certain said. “It was a rhetorical use of race reflecting the same racial framing that Charlie Kirk himself frequently used in public comments. He openly questioned the intelligence and qualifications of black pilots, black women and other educated black professionals. He had significantly less education than the people he criticized.” 

Board Member Daniel Foganholi said that as public officials, they “have a responsibility.” 

“We have to take that responsibility to represent all people,” he said.  

Foganholi also said that “words matter” and “tone matters.”  

“And there is no difference between a personal Facebook page and a political Facebook page,” he added. “Your name is your name. You are that representative all the time.  I am a state board member all the time, whether I’m in church or sitting up here [on the dais], whether I’m at the park with my kids…I have a responsibility.” 

FDOE investigating discrimination complaints in ACPS 

In a post on X Thursday, Kamoutsas said the FDOE has received several complaints about the “accommodations and services provided to students with disabilities” in ACPS, “indicating a potential pattern of discrimination against our most vulnerable students.” 

During his Commissioner’s Report at Thursday’s state board meeting, Kamoutsas said the FDOE’s Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services was in Alachua County investigating the complaints “to be sure all students receive the services and accommodations to which they are entitled.” 

Jackie Johnson, spokesperson for ACPS, told Mainstreet in an email reply Thursday afternoon that the district was “aware that a parent had shared concerns” with the FDOE. 

“To protect the student’s privacy, we cannot share any details, but the district is continuing to address those concerns,” she wrote. 

State board adopts Phoenix Declaration  

Also, during Thursday’s meeting, the state board voted unanimously to ratify and adopt The Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education.  

The Heritage Foundation, in partnership with leading education scholars, unveiled The Phoenix Declaration on Feb. 17.  

According to an FDOE press release, Florida is the first state in the country to adopt the declaration, which is dedicated to the following: parental choice and responsibility; transparency and accountability; truth and goodness; cultural transmission; character formation; academic excellence; and citizenship.  

For more information about the declaration, click here.  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.