Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has come under fire for his appointment of the businessperson and Republican Party donor Patrick Zalupski to the University of Florida Board of Trustees last week.
Zalupski is the co-founder and president of the real estate company Dream Finders Homes LLC, which has donated $150,000 to the Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee since Nov. 2021.
The new appointment follows previous appointments to the board of trustees made by Gov. DeSantis.
So far, the five members appointed by DeSantis have donated a total of $800,000 to DeSantis's campaign. The Florida Gov can nominate six of the thirteen members of the board.
The move by DeSantis is being fought by a coalition of New College of Florida Students, Alums, and Allies who have "joined forces to defend educational freedom amid a hostile takeover of the college's new Board of Trustees appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis."
The New College is seeking donations from supporters and lists its mission as:
"We are joining together to protect New College’s history and values, and to launch a call to defend the educational freedom of every college student, giving them a safe space to learn, think, and be who they want without government interference in their classroom."
Your thoughts
Do you believe Florida Gov. DeSantis should be appointing his political donors to these board positions? Or are you glad New College is fighting back against his appointments?
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