Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints new member to School Board of Manatee County

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Wesley "Chad" Choate to the five-member School Board of Manatee County, replacing Scott Hopes who resigned from the board last June to serve as the Manatee County administrator.

Choate, who is a financial advisor at Edward Jones Investments, will take the District 4 seat, which includes Sara Scott Harllee Center, Bayshore High School and Florine J. Abel, Bayshore, Blanche H. Daughtrey, Oneco and Marjorie G. Kinnan elementary schools.

"I am humbled by this opportunity to serve and look forward to standing with Gov. DeSantis by opposing a mask mandate in Manatee County schools, keeping critical race theory out of our classrooms and prioritizing civics education," Choate said in a news release from DeSantis' office. 

Choate will finish Hopes' term, which ends in November 2022. 

Choate previously was a teacher and football coach for the School District of Manatee County. 

Choate serves on the Leadership Manatee Alumni Association Board of Directors, Manatee County Aging Network Board of Directors, Kiwanis of Bradenton membership committee and is a trustees chair for Trinity United Methodist Church.