Rep. DeSantis Wants School Official Removed in Wake of Douglas High Shootings

Rep. Ron DeSantis, who is vying for the Republican nomination for Florida governor, wants Robert Runcie, the school superintendent whose area includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, removed from office, the SunSentinel is reporting.

Seventeen people were shot and killed in February at the school.

The Sentinel said a reporter asked DeSantis if he wants to see Runcie gone. He replied: "I do. I would like to see that."

Critics, particularly Republicans, have been expressed concern about Runcie and the Broward County school system’s PROMISE program, the newspaper said. PROMISE offers alternatives to kids arrested for some misdemeanors.

Originally, school district officials said the accused gunman Nikolas Cruz was never eligible for the program before the massacre. But now they say he had once started the program,  but did not finish it.

Meanwhile, the school system has scrapped plans to use metal detectors at the start of the school year at Douglas. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among those killed in the shooting, also has called for Runcie to resign.

"Schoolchildren are not safe as long as he is the superintendent." Pollack said.

• Video Released of Nikolas Cruz Interrogation After Parkland Shooting
• Stoneman Douglas Coaches Lose Jobs For Failure to Help Stop Shooting