Texts Show State Pushed Santa Rosa Schools to Reopen Days Earlier Than the District Said Was Safe After Hurricane Isaias

Newly obtained text messages and emails show how hard the state pushed Santa Rosa County schools to reopen after Hurricane Isaias — and how firmly the district held its own date. The communications, obtained by the Pensacola News Journal through a public records request, show Florida Education Commissioner Henry Mack telling Superintendent Karen Barber on Sunday, October 11, two days after the storm struck, that the governor wanted schools open on Tuesday, October 13, and later that day sending a proposed announcement naming Wednesday, October 14, as the reopening date.

Barber's position never moved. She had told Mack that morning that schools were unlikely to reopen until Monday, October 19, citing 33 schools without power, damaged facilities, disrupted food service and dangerous roads, and warning about transporting more than 16,000 students by bus through debris. The School Board unanimously supported delaying reopening to October 19, and schools did reopen that day, with nearly 94 percent of students returning and all bus routes operating, the district reported.

State officials maintain no date was mandated. The governor's office said Gov. Ron DeSantis never mandated specific reopening dates and stated schools should reopen as soon as they were safe and operational, and the Department of Education said the draft announcement was an optional resource, that districts retained full discretion, and that state emergency teams mobilized to help with inspections, repairs, meals and bus routes. The messages themselves, the News Journal noted, do not establish that the governor personally issued a binding order requiring an October 14 reopening.