For the second time in two months, an Alachua County School Board member has come under fire from the Florida Department of Education for a Facebook post about the death of a prominent conservative.
The State Board of Education wants Alachua County School Board member Tina Certain to address a now-deleted Facebook post she wrote about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial at its next meeting.
"How a 31yr old uneducated white boy has been glorified,” Certain said on a Facebook post. “To see the feds & state elevate him angers me."
Certain’s post followed Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas’ Sept. 11 letter to district superintendents, which cautioned educators against making negative social media comments about Kirk.
The Education Board summoned Certain to explain why she referenced race in her post and whether her remarks affect her ability to serve as a school board member. Kamoutsas questioned whether Certain would even appear at that meeting, suggesting a career change wouldn’t be surprising due to her “failure in leadership.”
In July, Alachua County School Board Chair Sarah Rockwell faced national backlash after posting Facebook about Hulk Hogan’s death: “Oh did Hulk die? I didn't even know. Good. One less MAGA in the world."
During a July 31 budget meeting, Jonesville resident Jeremy Clepper demanded Rockwell resign. When arguments broke out, Certain urged officers to remove Clepper. The board’s lawyer advised against it, and the meeting recessed.
Although Clepper was given the full two minutes offered to public commenters, the State Board of Education ruled on Aug. 20 that the Alachua Board had violated Clepper's First Amendment rights and vowed to monitor its meetings closely.
At the state board’s Sept. 24 meeting, Dustin Sims, executive director of school improvement, said he attended the Alachua board’s Sept. 2 session to ensure compliance with the state’s ruling.
“Certain did not establish a clear professional tone for the meeting,” Sims said. “There is a lack of decorum that continually follows each of those meetings, no matter whom the chair of the board may be on that particular night.”
Sims said the most concerning aspect of the Sept. 2 meeting was Certain’s comments, which seemed skeptical of the state board’s ruling and its fairness.
“I feel they searched very hard to find a couple video clips to fit into the narrative of the letter that was sent to us,” Certain said during the Sept. 2 meeting. “I’m of the opinion that their order was pre-written before we got there and said a word,”
Sims questioned whether the ACSB would implement any of the corrective measures the state mandated in its ruling.
State Board of Education Chair Ryan Petty said the chaos within the county’s board is reflected in its performance, citing multiple Alachua County schools going back and forth between “C” and “D” grades, which are assessed based on graduation rates and standardized testing results.
Petty added that it was clear, based on her social media posts, that Certain wasn’t receptive to the message the state was trying to send at its Aug. 20 meeting. Petty continued, saying the State Board wouldn’t allow families to lose out on educational opportunities in Alachua County because of a “dysfunctional board.”
“This has risen in my view to crisis level,” Petty said. “This is a board that has a complete disregard for operating as the oversight for the Alachua County School District. They are alienating a large portion of the community and the families that they are to serve.”
The State Board of Education’s next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13 in Crawfordville, Florida.
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @logandmcbride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and the Fall 2025 K-12 education reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
