McNulty & Barefoot Are Upset That Rosario Does Her Job.

In the 1974 biography titled The Power Broker - Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, written by Robert A. Caro, the reader learns a timeless lesson about how an unelected bureaucrat amasses so much power. Yale and Oxford educated, Robert Moses obtained his doctorate through writing a dissertation on proper public administration. He was part of a movement named “Good Government” that contained idyllic reformers in his first professional decade before realizing hardened political power was more important for his gain than intellectual debate. A constant dreamer of transforming New York City green space, Moses crafted the NY state parks legislation in 1924. When he received his first appointment under Governor Al Smith, it was not only for the Long Island Parks Commissioner, but also, the Council of State Parks. Having this new found power, Moses set up an expense account which included fully outfitted midtown offices and chauffeured cars for him and his staff. Moses who built multiple parkways and bridge crossings in NY, never had a driver’s license. In using his academic ideals to maintain power, at first, Moses did not take a salary as strategy to craft his media persona.

It is a fascinating read into how the dark arts of government deal making and legislation is produced, used and manipulated. Caro’s biography is considered the crowning expose on municipal power and the real abuse of it. As the overseer of all park construction and through the Triborough Bridge Authority, Moses wielded unprecedented power for over 40 years. These days, what Moses did would be hard to achieve again. However, it’s not for lack of trying by “Good Government” idealists who now come at local county commissioners and school boards under the altruistic label of a “non-profit,” or, “NGO - non-governmental organization.”

And while Indian River County and it’s school district is hardly the same in size and scope compared to New York City in the 1920’s through the 60’s, the lessons, that are found in this riveting true tale of legislative and public manipulation by a man who was never elected to public office, have application today. 

Most readers of Vero News / 32963 that this reporter has spoken to over the past few weeks have expressed disgust at the recent column by Ray McNulty titled, “Rosario Clearly Unfit for School Board Leadership.” As usual, the points in the column are propped up by school board member, Brian Barefoot. Over the years, McNulty has used his My Take space in the newspaper to fabricate an image of Mr. Barefoot as a divinely sent gift from the elite of humanity who will grace us with his managerial and financial expertise. As a school board member, the professional, Brian Barefoot, would single handedly right the ship. In his June 4th 2020 column in Vero News, McNulty believed about Barefoot’s candidacy, “Barefoot’s stature, built on a lifetime of accomplishment, makes him the perfect choice to lead the School Board as its new, blue-chip superintendent pushes the district to reach its potential.”

Barefoot did get elected to the school board that year, and with platitudes flowing like mudslides down California hillsides for the former Indian River Shores mayor, McNulty filled a whole column for his endorsement as chairman that November. 

In the 11/12/2020 My Take, McNulty opens the endorsement saying, …”if none of the four members don’t nominate Brian Barefoot for chairman, [he] should nominate himself.” He went on to say with a cool bravado, “Not only would he bring a lifetime of knowledge, experience and professionalism to what has been a sometimes-contentious, occasionally chaotic board, but our school district would benefit mightily from the sure-and-steady, solution-driven leadership he would provide at a pivotal time.” 

Like Robert Moses’ carefully crafted image in New York media, Barefoot’s personal campaign ran through Vero News. He was elected chairman. 

That year, as the issue of mask mandates were front and center, Barefoot, not being aware of the brevity of the moment, used his power to curb normal presentation of public comment. His heavy-handed tactics created unnecessary tension with citizens. Under his direction, he turned off camera angles, limited seating, stopped the reading of emails into the public record like his predecessor, Laura Zorc, did in service to the community, and, even had a local citizen thrown out over their use of an empty chair. The off-camera commotion led to that person’s firing by the Chamber of Commerce. 

If the previous board was “chaotic,” the chairman of this new board, who McNulty claimed was too “coast through any transition,” got too easily irritated with the public. So, Barefoot handled it by reducing access. He led a charge to limit the number of meetings. Under his leadership, the school board voted to meet only once a month rather than every two weeks for its workshop & business meeting, limiting transparency. The SDIRC has a budget of $386 million and still only conducts 12 business meetings a year thanks to Mr. Barefoot. 

Since 2021, Barefoot has never been voted chairman. Instead, like he always does, he turns to his media accomplice, McNulty, and through his column, he tries to win over public opinion and direct pressure on school board members, namely Jackie Rosario. In the July 19, 2022 column, he openly campaigned against Rosario, expressing that the Superintendent should resign ‘if the Moms-endorsed candidates take control of the board.’ He told his favorite writer, “If I were him and the election goes the wrong way, I’d have my resume out there.” The obvious choreography of McNulty’s writing on school board issues has many people in the Indian River community refer to it as “Barefoot Media.”

The latest hit piece on Rosario has all the dubious qualities of previous writings and often times McNulty misappropriates facts to buttress his opinion. The most used false accusation of Rosario is this one: “And they’re not hypocrites who repeatedly cite Florida statutes and accuse other board members of breaking laws, then celebrate receiving a political endorsement from the governor in violation of the state constitution, which requires school board elections to be nonpartisan.”

Any Individual can make an endorsement of a candidate. The challenger for governor, Charlie Crist, endorsed Cindy Gibbs. Their own PACs provide actual support and in no manner was the endorsement tied to the office of the Governor. Both local parties endorsed prospective candidates for school board too.

Like Robert Moses, McNulty knows the truth or where to find it, yet beating his opponent is more important. Therefore, concerning Rosario, who is the only minority on the board, he will never state complete facts. Rosario actually won Gifford’s #18 precinct in the August primary by 3 points, and, virtually tied (50.8, Gibbs -49.2, Rosario) in the general. In that same primary, among 4 candidates, Rosario won 33 of 34 precincts. Furthermore, Rosario won 28 of 34 precincts in the general election with double the voter turnout. Indian River voters awarded her leadership overwhelmingly. 

Regarding books in school libraries with sexually explicit content, and for what a psychotherapist stately described at the school board meeting on August 28, 2023, “[the passages] are nothing more than sexual abuse and trauma,” McNulty claims they are “allegedly pornographic.” He further incorrectly declares, “records show nobody was reading them.” He forgets the school board voted 5-0 to remove all 235 of the challenged materials including the 34 represented that evening because of the pornographic content. Moms for Liberty chairwoman, Jennifer Pippin remarks, “the pornographic books that were formally challenged in 2021 were put back on the shelves in February 2022. Some were read at the August 2023 meeting and ALL were permanently removed. They were determined to not be in compliance with state, federal and local laws. Rosario was the only one to stand up on this issue. Some of the books challenged were checked out 10 to 80 times in the past few years.”

Robert Moses was famous for hiding facts about his proposals through obfuscation to outright false claims, berating in very favorable media those who disagree by resorting to outright character assassination. Moses did these media tactics when proposals he endorsed were publicly questioned by other government officials.

Transparency really does matter for “good government.” That is why during the formally scheduled discussion at the Superintendent’s Workshop on November 13, 2023, Rosario brought forth an assortment of questions and comments on the constitution and bylaws for the establishment of the SDIRC Education Foundation. The discussion highlighted three glaring features. First, the PURPOSE in the Constitution and the PURPOSE section in the bylaws were inconsistent. In that part of the discussion, a majority of board members verbally concurred that should be edited for agreement.

Secondly, Rosario brought up that it gave the independent foundation board of directors the ability to give secured funds raised for the school district to outside non-profit organizations, and third, if the foundation was to be dissolved, the monies could be given to outside organizations by the approval of the foundation’s directors. The district would have no oversight on the direction of funds. Again a majority of the board agreed to what Rosario brought up in discussion.

Rosario sought specificity concerning donations, who was in charge of it and how oversight was to be managed. The articles of incorporation & bylaws are currently headed for a rewrite to align with the principles discussed at a workshop. 

The inquiries Rosario made during the Workshop were those of a responsible board member to the office that she oversees. McNulty wrongly referred to Janet Knupp as the “board’s consultant.” As listed on Indian River School’s website, Knupp is in the Superintendent’s cabinet as the Executive Director of Development and Engagement reporting directly to Dr. David Moore. 

Furthermore, Barefoot who has gone on record about Sunshine Law regarding this foundation, did not understand its nuances. School board attorney, Sydney Ansbacher, corrected him because donors’ private information given to foundations is to remain confidential and not subject to sunshine. 

McNulty’s exercise of transference is on full display when he says, “Certainly, such leaders don’t treat their peers as political enemies who must be defeated in some concocted culture war fueled by harsh tones, divisive rhetoric and combative demeanor.” His opinion against Rosario is written with the full support of a quoted Brian Barefoot, who once came out against a free pocket book distribution of The US Constitution and Declaration of Independence to 8th graders. Barefoot’s reasoning? “It was political” and “we should be talking about education.” 

When Rosario is asking questions, gathering information and understanding, even if the language may seem like strange legalese, she is doing an effective job for the public. These conversations are  what happens in the appropriate forum of a workshop. For most of the workshop, Barefoot remained quiet about her questions. He was more anxious to get the foundation approved as it was constructed in its documentation. So, to express his impatience, frustration, and disagreement, he does his questioning in McNulty’s My Take at the expense of board harmony.

Does Indian River really need four more years of this type of politics at the school board?