DeSantis Appoints Choate to Manatee School Board

TALLAHASSEE – On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Wesley "Chad" Choate to fill the vacancy left by Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes on the School Board of Manatee County.

Choate, a Financial Advisor at Edward Jones Investments, is a close friend and political ally of Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge. Rumors of his appointment began almost immediately after Van Ostenbridge began pushing Hopes as the county administrator after he and three other board members fired Cheri Coryea.

Garin Hoover–a local realtor with a background in law and finance who was appointed by DeSantis to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees in 2018 also serves on the district's finance committee–made a vocal push for the appointment and has already filed to run for the seat in 2022. Despite being a respected local Republican with strong community support (just under 500 residents petitioned DeSantis to appoint Hoover to the seat) who's been deeply involved with the district, Hoover's push seems to have been ignored by Republican power brokers.

Choate's appointment comes just ahead of a 10 a.m. emergency meeting of the Manatee School Board tomorrow, in which board members will discuss COVID policies for the upcoming school year, including whether there will be any requirement for face coverings. Choate's statement upon being appointed suggested that the two were related.

"I am humbled by this opportunity to serve and look forward to standing with Governor DeSantis by opposing a mask mandate in Manatee County Schools, keeping Critical Race Theory out of our classrooms, and prioritizing civics education," said Choate, a former teacher and football coach for the district.

Choate serves on the Leadership Manatee Alumni Association Board of Directors, Manatee County Ageing Network Board of Directors, Kiwanis of Bradenton Membership Committee and is Trustees Chair for Trinity United Methodist Church. He is an Accredited Asset Management Specialist and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.

COVID-19 cases are on a steady uptick, both in the state and in Manatee County. The Florida Department of Health released new data showing 134,506 new cases of COVID-19 within the state over the past week.

The school district has reported 33 COVID cases between students and staff over the past two weeks, with classes set to resume on Tuesday. As of Friday, Manatee Memorial Hospital had 65 COVID hospitalizations, with 9 in ICU, the second week in a row that there has been a double-digit increase in percentage.