Miami-Dade School Board Member Mary Blanco Faces Accusations of Using District Emails for Campaign Flyers

Miami-Dade County School Board Member Mary Blanco is under scrutiny after multiple teachers reported receiving campaign flyers in their work emails from a personal account linked to Blanco. Blanco, who was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and is now running to retain her seat, is being accused of using school district resources to promote her campaign.

According to the United Teachers of Dade, 15 teachers filed complaints with the union, claiming they received campaign materials from the email address Mary@maryblanco-dot-com in their official school email accounts. One of the teachers, Helena Rosa, who works at Robert Morgan Educational Center, said, “Politics and school shouldn’t mix. I shouldn’t feel any pressure where I work to vote any specific way, and I shouldn’t see that in my school email.”

The Miami-Dade County Public Schools policy prohibits using the district’s email system for political activities, including receiving campaign-related messages from external accounts. Rosa expressed confusion, stating, “I don’t know why I was targeted along with some other teachers, I know I’m not the only one.”

In response, the school board’s attorney, Walter Harvey, downplayed the issue, suggesting it may not be widespread and that Blanco may not have been aware of it until the situation was brought to light. Harvey also explained that while the district has policies and filters in place to block political emails, they are not always foolproof.

Former school board member and congressman Carlos Curbelo commented on the situation, stating, “This is not some serious violation.” He acknowledged that while using public resources for personal campaigns is a concern, mistakes can happen, and in this case, it seems more of an inconvenience than a scandal.

Despite the controversy, the incident raises concerns about the intersection of politics and public resources in school districts.