PLASTIC SURGERY & LAVISH TRIPS ABROAD: This Is Where Tax Dollars Intended For Education Are Going Thanks To Tallahassee’s Severe Mismanagement Of Floridians’ Money
School Operator, Who Received Over $57 Million In Public Funds, Charged With Racketeering & Fraud
Florida Legislature Diverts Millions To For-Profits, But Fails To Hold Them Accountable
TALLAHASSEE – On Monday, a school operator who managed 15 schools across six Florida counties was charged with racketeering and fraud “in what prosecutors said was a scheme to steer public education money his way using huge markups, bogus invoices and a web of related corporations.” Over the past decade, the operator received over $57 million in public funds and used over $1 million in taxpayer dollars for plastic surgery, lavish trips abroad and household bills. FloridaStrong Executive Director Charly Norton released the following statement on this troubling news: “Conservative lawmakers in Tallahassee decry corporate welfare and claim to be responsible stewards of Floridians’ tax dollars, but in reality, waste millions diverting much-needed public funds to companies out to profit off of our kids’ education. The legislature’s excessive spending and misuse of our money, coupled with its refusal to enact oversight and accountability for these schools, hurt our children’s future and the state’s economy. Tallahassee’s education ‘strategy’ proves to be nothing more than an assault on our schools and yet another means for Speaker Corcoran and his foot soldiers to shamefully reward their political cronies with our tax dollars.”