Morning Tea & Allegations - S4 - EP. 13 - Who's Unprofessional Now?

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Good morning, Saints Sniptus. [00:00:05] Speaker A: And the rest of y' all still lying in the group chat. [00:00:10] Speaker A: Welcome to Morning Tea and Allegations where the devil gets no mic and the truth gets the final say Just a good time hey, hey she don't run on rumors she run on receipts Sanctified shade with the screenshots to preach this ain't just got it's gospel flow she prays, she claps back and lets the spirit go Bible in one hand, the doc's in the other she speak with fire can't silence our truth I did my Bianca the snitch with a mission Calling it out cause our children deserve better. [00:00:57] Speaker A: Warranty and allegations Pouring truth with no hesitation Accountability and rotation this is gospel education Transparency is our foundation Integrity lead the conversation no rumor, no speculation Facts, receipts and revelations. [00:01:16] Speaker A: We make one fold of shady temptation. [00:01:21] Speaker A: No fake comes no false relations. [00:01:25] Speaker A: Just truth, conviction and congregation. [00:01:35] Speaker A: And allocation. [00:02:07] Speaker B: Good morning, good morning, Good morning to you. Welcome to Morning Teen Allocations, y'. All. It's been a minute and it has been a lot, and I just thank you. I just want to take a moment of privilege to just say I am very grateful to be back. I am here in Florida. I am here to celebrate the life of my auntie, and then I'm going back to Peru. And while I'm here, there are some matters that I'm going to be addressing and some things that we need to talk about. So I am so glad that you're here. For those of you that are on the podcast community, that listen to the teaching for the Culture Network, or for those that are watching live on YouTube, Facebook, or the folks that are in the Replay Ministry, I just am thankful and grateful that you have been with me for four seasons of Morning Teen Allegations. And I am just so grateful for that. Okay. [00:03:03] Speaker B: So I need you to invite the people into the room so that we can have a conversation, because the title of today's episode is who is Unprofessional Now? [00:03:14] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:03:15] Speaker B: Huh? There's a lot to that. And before we get started, I just want to go ahead and start with our church announcements, as you know that we do. I am very grateful for the folks that have been listening to my album, Grace and Receipts. I am thankful for the messages that I've been receiving and the positive feedback and even some of the things that's like, hey, you should do that better next time. I am very grateful for those of you that have taken an opportunity to listen to my album, listen to the things that I'm saying. On it. And it is something that is very, very important to me to just use my giftings in a different way. And I want to show you how I do it. The same way that I was able to make the intro for this and several other intros for different podcasts is how I made the album. And I can't wait to do a deep dive so that you can see the process and to show you how you could do it, too. I also just want to uplift the Patreon community. As I was preparing for the show, I sent messages to my equalizers and Patreon to give them a preview of the topics that are on the docket and giving them an opportunity to add things that they want me to review. Okay. This is me being an investigative reporter, me looking at the things and me talking about it. Okay. If you see in the background, I'm here in the bear cave and home of the snitch. Okay. So there's some people that will be upset with me based on the things that I'm talking about. But all I do want to just uplift is I want you to just sit with what I'm saying for a moment and then ask this very essential question. Did I lie? Okay. [00:05:04] Speaker B: So just want to give a shout out to my Patreon community and you can join the community, too. So I just want to uplift that. It is a safe space on the Internet and I want you to be a part of it. It's going to be great. Okay. All right, cool. So who chow? We are talking about the federal department that is literally disappearing itself. Billions with a B. Billions of dollars that nobody can find. Degrees that suddenly aren't professional enough. Florida's charter schools that are now forcing themselves into public school buildings against everyone's will. Like, who really asked for this? And educators. Who is done staying silent and actually booed the Florida education commissioner. So before we get into those topics, I want to go ahead and play the disclaimer because it's very, very important. And again, I want you to adhere to the things that I'm saying in the disclaimer. It's very, very important. So let's go ahead and roll it. [00:06:06] Speaker B: Thank you, church members, as we have additional announcements and disclaimers that require your full attention. I am a certified snitch and whistleblower that reports on what is happening in our community. Like I always say, people lie. Receipts don't. With that stated, the content used in this programming is protected under fair use. In addition, the views and opinions on this programming Belong to me. I hold myself accountable and prioritize accuracy and truthfulness in my communications. So unless you have receipts, don't start with me. God is still working on me. I love the block button to protect my peace and I desire to snitch on everybody, including me. Thank you for your attention. And govern yourselves accordingly. Amen. [00:07:05] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. So with that being said, I really need you to govern yourselves accordingly to those disclaimers. Okay? Don't be mad at me. Be mad at the receipts. And at the end of this, there are some things that I really do want to uplift and talk about. But we first need to uplift the things that are happening as it relates to our education system. We need to uplift the things that are going on because the math is not mathing, the money isn't being tracked, and some of the people that are in charge, they're either incompetent or they're lying, and in some cases is both. So let's go ahead and get started and talk about the great Education Department disappearing act. So the United States Department of Education is dismantling itself. This is not metaphorically, this is not gradually, like literally taking programs that have existed for decades and shipping them off to other federal agencies. And this is happening right now. As you're listening to this, you might not be watching live, you might be on the replay Ministry, but I'm here to tell you that the dismantling of public education is happening, and it is starting with the Department of Education. Okay, we've been talking about this for quite some time now, but I need people to be in the room. I need people to be involved. I need people to be intentional because our children deserve better and they did not ask for this. So on November 18, 2025. Okay, so last month, barely, the Department of Education announced six interagency agreements. This is a controlled demolition of the Federal Education Oversight. Let me go ahead and share my screen so that you can see exactly what I'm talking about. Because every time that I come on here, I'm going to bring my receipts. And I need more people to be like that because why do y' all go on the Internet Line on people, shut up, please. Is so much going on and you are out here on the Internet, lying, creating fake pages, changing narratives of situations. Just, oh, my God, shut up. Geez. Okay, so let me go ahead and share my screen here so you could see that the Department of Education released a press release. I'm going to put the link in the comments so that you can actually read it yourself, because I do think that everyone related to education and even people outside of education need to be aware of the correspondence and the things that are being published as it relates to the Department of Education. So they are transferring most of K12 programs, again, billions with a B of dollars in grant programs, to other federal agencies. They are not consolidating them. They're not streamlining them. They are just moving them. Two agencies that don't have education expertise to agencies that weren't designed to handle education funding in the first place. So the official statement about these agreements would break up the federal education bureaucracy. Okay? And to ensure efficient delivery of funded programs. And I want to translate that for you because again, the. The math ain't mathing, okay? So we are scattering education funding across the government. So no one has clear responsibility for anything. That. That is what I'm hearing. And again, I'm like, follow the money. But, you know, the money is getting even harder to track. So these are questions that we should all have around here, because it's your money, folks. It is your money. We all need to be very intentional about what's happening. So the department is not giving a full list of what's being transferred and what that looks like. They released a very vague announcement and some framework documents, but the details, I guess that's being worked out behind closed doors because no one really knows. But this is what we do know. We do know that most K12K through 12 programs are being offloaded to other agencies. What we do know is that billions of dollars in education grants are being moved to. And we also know that the transfers are happening piece by piece through these interagency agreements, which each agreement effectively removes programs from the Department of Education's control. PBS reported that these six agreements will move billions of dollars in programs. And Education Week confirmed that Most K through 12 programs are leaving the department. So the question is, if most of the programs are leaving, what's left? [00:12:27] Speaker B: President Trump has been very clear about his goal. He wants to close the Department of Education entirely. He says this is. He says it repeatedly, like it's in his campaign materials, it's in executive orders. This is nothing new. So what they're doing is they're hollowing out, moving programs out, transferring authority away. And here's the thing. Congress created the Department of Education. Only Congress can eliminate it. The president can't just delete a cabinet's department. So instead, we're just going to move programs out until what's left is very small and powerless. That ultimately shuts down and again, this is what's been talked about, this is what has been documented. So the shock and the outrage about it is very interesting to me because this has been outlined several times and he has talked about doing this several times. And again, with this statement by our Secretary of Education, they want to move everything to states. And I tell you, that's going to be very interesting. So with these programs that are being scattered through all multiple agencies, I guess we're just going to have good luck trying to figure out who's in charge. Because Title 1 funding for low income students, where, where, where does the grants come from? Special education? Does that come from the Department of Health and Human Services now or the Department of Labor? Who knows? Okay. And also, let's not forget that at the beginning of the school year that the Department of Education withheld billions of dollars that caused so much chaos to our school districts across the nation. So this is what really terrifies me in all of it is again, I'm just trying to figure out the accountability about it. You know, I'm just trying to figure out who is going to be held accountable if something goes wrong with education funding. Who's responsible? Is the Department of Education who used to run it or the new agency that's supposed to run it now? Both. Neither. Who knows? And when you can't figure out who's in charge, it's hard to hold people accountable. And that's the point. Because when we talk about missing money later in this episode, mind you, and trust me, we will, because they are intentionally making it harder to track education funding. This is chaos on purpose. So what's the big picture? Department of Education is being dismantled while we watch. So let's talk about what happens when education funding loses oversight and spoiler, millions of dollars go missing. Mm. [00:15:23] Speaker B: Hoochao. So. [00:15:27] Speaker B: If I told you that school districts across America lost millions of dollars, you would probably think that I'm exaggerating. And I wish I was. I wish I was. Literally this week, okay, Florida released an audit. The document is 27 pages long. I'm going to put the receipt in the comments because I need you to see this audit and I'm going to talk about it. But let me share my screen so I could just highlight the points of the audit. Because I read it and I wanted to know what this audit said. Just like I be looking at audits with different school districts, I'm also looking at the audits with the Department of Education too. So this was the audit findings. Okay, so. [00:16:11] Speaker B: According to the private school voucher system. The budget was 4 billion with the B. And according to the Florida Auditor General, it states that it had trouble tracking $270 million. [00:16:30] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:16:31] Speaker B: Okay. Oh, yeah. And they can't locate 30,000 students. [00:16:43] Speaker B: $270 million. 30,000 children. [00:16:54] Speaker B: Gone, lost, unaccounted for. [00:17:00] Speaker B: The Florida Department of Education. [00:17:03] Speaker B: States that they have made overpayments for roughly 30,000 children within the private voucher system and that the state sent 47 million to families to pay for private schools when their children were actually enrolled in public schools. [00:17:31] Speaker B: So families got paid twice. Public schools got shorted millions, Private schools got overpaid, and in some cases, private schools were shorted as well. [00:17:42] Speaker B: And Nobody knows where 30,000 students actually are. This isn't just an accounting error. This is a systemic failure. This is an issue. And I don't see a lot of conversations about it in the news, but it needs to be because. [00:18:07] Speaker B: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. [00:18:11] Speaker B: So I do want to roll a clip. And this is from Spectrum News talking about this issue. So let's go ahead and roll it. [00:18:25] Speaker B: Push to pay for private school vouchers for students. Has massive problems with tracking the money. We're talking about Florida Family Empowerment scholarships that give vouchers to families so they can actually send their children to private schools or homeschool them. Spectrum News 13's Keith Landry joins us live at the Orange County Schools Administration building. Work more with more now. Keith, how much money we're talking about not accounted for here? [00:18:51] Speaker C: It's a lot. Courtesy audit finds. On any given day, the Florida Department of Education has trouble tracking $270 million in voucher funds. And the state recently sent a check for $4 million to the Orange County School District to reimburse the district for some funds that were spent the wrong way. Here is the Florida Auditor General's report on how the state tracks money for its $4 billion private school vouchers program. The audit says Florida has trouble tracking 30,000 students within the private voucher system. It also says last year, $47 million to families to pay for private schools when their children were actually enrolled in public schools. Jessica Pophoff's a mental health counselor who helps students using the private voucher programs. [00:19:42] Speaker B: There was a major rush to kind of put this voucher program in place without a lot of oversight and accountability or checks and balance systems. [00:19:50] Speaker C: State Representative Anna Eskimani, a Democrat, says the state was slow last year to reimburse some private schools and families for their expenses. [00:19:59] Speaker B: This audit specifically states that the money did not follow the Child. There are tens of millions of missing dollars and we don't know where the money went. You have. Private schools have not been reimbursed. [00:20:10] Speaker C: Republican State Senator Don Gates spoke about the audit's results last month on the Senate floor. [00:20:16] Speaker D: We have to make sure that we change course in the ways that the Auditor General has recommended. [00:20:21] Speaker C: Senator Gates is sponsoring a bill to fix the money tracking problems. He says the $270 million is not missing. It's moving back and forth between private schools and public. Says Senate Bill 318 would identify if a student is in a private school or public school before the state sends voucher money to their families. Right now, the state sends the money and then tries to locate students. It would also separate funding for public schools and voucher funds into separate allocations in the budget. Right now, the funds are all lumped together, then dispersed. [00:20:54] Speaker D: We who believe in school choice and who believe in parent empowerment want to safeguard it. [00:21:03] Speaker C: Gates tells ME Senate Bill 318 was filed a little bit earlier this week. It'll go before the full Senate Appropriations Committee next week, and if it moves on, it'll go on the Senate floor in the first week of the session. But candidly, the senator tells me this bill will not be easy to pass. Back to you, Curtis. [00:21:21] Speaker B: All right, thank you so much, Keith. Senator Gates tells us the state needs to fix the tracking problems this year or they won't be able to locate even more students next year. Definitely something we're going to keep following. [00:21:37] Speaker B: Okay, so you heard that, right? So $270 million unaccounted for and surely somebody lost their job. Right? So some. Some. Somebody, somebody. [00:21:55] Speaker B: Well, wrong. So this audit came out, and as of today, I cannot find a single news report of anyone being fired, demoted, or even reassigned or held accountable. The Florida Department of Education's response was, we're working on it. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. So in any other context, you couldn't account for 270 million. You would probably be in handcuffs. But in Florida's education, you get to keep your pension and everything and just, hey, we're working on it. Cool. And please believe that Florida is not the only state. And remember the first segment where I talked about the Department of Education being dismantled? Just imagine the. This level of financial chaos with even less federal oversight, and that's where we're headed. So we got missing money, disappearing students and zero accountability, but at least the government is taking education seriously and respecting professional degrees. Right? Right. Maybe. Oh, hell no. [00:23:15] Speaker B: All right, well, let's do a pop Quiz. Because, you know, I got some questions and I just want to know which of these professions are professional. Okay, so we got doctor professional, lawyer professional, nurse, non professional. [00:23:39] Speaker B: Huh? [00:23:42] Speaker B: A nurse is non professional. Are you serious? Okay. Veterinarian professional, an accountant, non professional. [00:23:57] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Okay, so we got a chiropractor professional, but an educator, a teacher, non professional. [00:24:12] Speaker B: I just need to take a moment and just sit with that. [00:24:18] Speaker B: What, what is, what is happening, y'? All, like. [00:24:25] Speaker B: Oh, my God, what is happening? What is happening? If this sounds wild to you, congratulations, because you have more sense than the US Department of Education. So on November 21, 2025, the Department of Education confirmed what's been rumored since the fall, that they've reclassified which graduate degrees count as professional for federal student loan purposes. And the results, I mean, I, I tell you the results. [00:24:59] Speaker B: Wow. Stuff here wild. So let me go ahead and, and share my screen here so that you can see what's happening here, because I. [00:25:07] Speaker B: I, I can y' all sound off and tell me how you feel about this because this is who made the cut. [00:25:16] Speaker B: Only 10 degrees classified as professionals. I, I need you to see the screen for the folks that are on the podcast side of things and listen to the episode. I need you to get on YouTube or Facebook and get on Facebook before 30 days because you know, they be deleting stuff after 30 days, but go on YouTube. Okay. And I want you to look at this list. [00:25:40] Speaker B: Of the folks that made the cut. [00:25:43] Speaker B: Okay? [00:25:46] Speaker B: That's it. 10 degrees. [00:25:50] Speaker B: Now let's look to see who got left out. [00:25:54] Speaker B: So nursing, accounting, education, social work, public health. [00:26:03] Speaker B: It goes on and on. Do you see a pattern? Because I do. It seems to be that the degrees that keep the professional status, that they're mostly male dominated, that they're high paying, serving wealthy clients, and the degrees that got downgraded are majority women, care, work, education, social services, you know, the fields that actually serve the public good. Now, I don't know if that's intentional or not, but I am just saying, like, look, look at the list. Look, look at the list. So, okay, now while all that's happening, y', all, while all that's happening, I don't know if y' all know, but there is a nursing crisis. [00:26:57] Speaker B: Which is wild to me, that America is in the, is in the middle of a historic nursing shortage. Okay? They are in a nursing shortage and we don't have enough nurses. We desperately need more nurses, particularly in rural areas where they depend on APRNs because they're often the only health care providers and the federal government's response to this is, let's make it more financially impossible to become one. We need nurses. We've been begging for nurses, and now we've just made nursing school unaffordable for most people. Make it make sense. Not only is this impacting the nurses so much so, but the accountants are actually fighting back. They're in like full revolt about this. And I can understand why after doing some research about it, because I just wanted to hear different sides and, and different perspectives on the matter. Well, you have different professional organizations that serve accounting professionals, and they are in full rebellion over this. CPAs, they've been a licensed profession since 1896, y'. All. 1896. They are regulated by state boards. They have rigorous exams. They have education requirements and professional standards. And yet, and yet the Department of Education said, yeah, that's not professional. [00:28:32] Speaker B: So the NASBA president, Daniel Dustin, he said the following. He said, classifying accountants as anything other than professionals fundamentally misrepresent the critical work CPAs perform. [00:28:49] Speaker B: Work that is responsible for the integrity of the global financial systems on which businesses and individuals rely. [00:29:02] Speaker B: Oh, and by the way, as I was doing my research on this, you have federal projections that show a 5% growth in demand for accountants. [00:29:14] Speaker B: So we need more accountants, but we're making it impossible to afford people becoming one. [00:29:22] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:29:24] Speaker B: Okay, so I'mma post the link so that you can actually read this article from this professional organization because they have a lot of things that they're talking about as it relates to this. And I found it quite intriguing because I again wanted to hear different sides of how people are adapting to this. And you already know we can't forget about our educators. We have an educator shortage. We have a teacher shortage in America. Schools are desperately trying to find people. Districts are lowering the requirements just to fill positions, and now graduate education programs, you know, the degrees that will make you a better educator, that will qualify you for leadership positions, that would increase your expertise. Those are not professional enough for adequate loans. So if you want to get your master's in education to become a principal or a curriculum specialist or a special special education expert, it's non professional. And I just find it so interesting that we are here that this is happening and wondering where is the outrage and where's the conversations about this? Because I'm just trying to figure out, well, who is unprofessional here? [00:30:46] Speaker B: Hello, I'm trying to figure out who is unprofessional here. [00:30:52] Speaker A: Oh, hell no. [00:30:56] Speaker B: So I've talked about the segments of dysfunction with the Department of Education money disappearing and degrees being devalued. And I'm just wanting us to get really real about who is behaving unprofessionally. [00:31:19] Speaker B: Oh, but wait. Oh, but wait, there's more. Okay. Because in Florida, they're not just losing track of students. They're forcing charter schools into public school buildings against everyone's will. And it's called Schools of Hope co location. And it's exactly as messy as it sounds. You had the Florida education commissioner stand in a room full of superintendents and school board members to explain the the new School of Hope cold location policy, and they booed him. Education professionals, the people who actually run the school, booed the state education commissioner. And I'm gonna tell you why. But before I tell you why, I do want to give some context. Because maybe you don't know what Schools of Hope is, maybe you don't know what that is. So let me tell you. So Schools of Hope is a Florida program that is bringing high performing charter schools. And I'm putting high performing in air quotes here. High performing charter schools to operate in areas within struggling public schools. It sounds nice. Hope improvement, collaboration. Except this is how it really works. You got the state that identifies public schools that are failing based on test scores. And mind you, I don't know if y' all recall, but I just published an article not too long ago about how a senate bill increased this failing list over 425%. Okay, we. I'll show you the receipt in a moment. Okay. So the state identifies these schools that are failing based on test scores. And then they invite charter school operators to either A, open a new charter school nearby to provide choice, or B to co locate inside the public school building. [00:33:23] Speaker B: That's right. They put a charter school physically in a public school. Same building, different operators competing for the same students. And the public school has no choice in the matter. [00:33:40] Speaker B: Here's what colocation means into practice. So your public school is struggling, usually because it's underfunded, in a high poverty area, serving students with complex needs. And the state salute in the state solution, hear me. The state solution is to give part of your building to a charter school operator. So now you're sharing classrooms, cafeteria space, gym, libraries, playgrounds. But what, you're not sharing funding because the charter gets their own pot of money. Accountability because they have different standards and enrollment rules. Charters can be selective, public schools cannot. So the public schools have to serve all students, including those that have the highest needs, with less space and less resources. And the charter gets to cherry pick students in your building. This is happening as a part of Florida's large push to privatize education. Remember the Phoenix declaration that we talked about in the last episode? If you didn't see the last episode, Go catch up, okay? Go catch up. I talked about this declaration by the Heritage foundation, okay? This is the creator of Project 2025, folks. This was a declaration that Florida adopted. Well, Schools of Hope is part of the same agenda. Weaken public schools, strengthen charter operators claim public schools are failing. Use that as justification for more privatization. [00:35:27] Speaker B: It's literally a self fulfilling prophecy. Okay? And I just want to just share the receipt of what happened when the commissioner got on stage because I need y' all to to see and hear what happened because people are fighting back and I hope they continue to because this unacceptable. This is unacceptable. We have so many questions of how the School of Hope co location is going to work. Hell, we got questions of how the Schools of Hope is even working now. And then you literally had the state identify so many schools that are now listed as persistently underperforming. And there are some A schools, folks, in the research I did, there are some A and B schools that have been A and B schools for a long time and are now labeled persistently low performing because they continue to move the goal post. So let's go ahead and and watch what happened during this meeting legislature this session. [00:36:32] Speaker D: For years. [00:36:40] Speaker B: Let me finish. [00:36:45] Speaker D: For years we have heard districts, they. [00:36:48] Speaker B: Have zero low performing schools. Zero. [00:36:57] Speaker B: Now. [00:37:00] Speaker B: Again, I want to uplift that. The state of Florida, right? They recently changed the law with Senate Bill 2510. Okay, let me share my screen so that you can see this article that I published about the matter. And I really hope that y' all be very intentional with what I'm telling you. And as it relates to this. [00:37:30] Speaker B: Okay? When we talk about the weaponization of poverty, that is what's happening. Okay? You had a 423% increase of persistently low performing schools due to Senate Bill 2510. [00:37:53] Speaker B: Folks, I need y' all to hear me very very clearly. The weaponization of our public schools is also a weaponization against poverty. And our children didn't ask for this. Our children deserve better. And it frustrates me when people get on the Internet and lie and misalign and talk about the people that are doing the very research to help educate people about what's happening. If you are not going to be productive as it relates to this, shut up please. [00:38:29] Speaker B: Because our children deserve better. So let me Go ahead and copy and paste this so that you can go ahead and read this article yourself because it is important. I go through and I highlight schools that have been an A school, that have been a B school for several years, and they are now on this list. Why? [00:38:49] Speaker B: Because these charter operators are coming. I've said this in 2020. [00:38:56] Speaker B: And here we are five years later where it is only getting worse. [00:39:04] Speaker B: And there, there's some harmful impacts that are happening, folks. And then you have people that want to play games on the Internet. And I don't understand it. When our children deserve better, our children didn't ask for this. And here we are trying to advocate and letting people know, hey, pay attention. Hey, be intentional with your ballot. Hey, know the people who's in position and who has office and what their duties and responsibilities are. Because now we got this crisis where you have $270 million that are unaccounted for right now. And everyone is looking around trying to figure out who to hold accountable. [00:39:47] Speaker B: Hello. [00:39:57] Speaker B: So this, this is what the system looks like. This, this, this is a graph. I'm going to make sure that I make this real pretty. I, I did it just for the episode, but I'm going to make a chart. I think people do very well when I make charts and graphs. So I'm going to turn this into an entire graphic series so that we could talk about this system. Okay? So the broken system, Step one, send voucher money to families. Step two, we're going to try to figure out where the students actually are. Okay? Now. [00:40:28] Speaker B: Matt Gaetz, Daddy is now trying to file this bill to hold some type of accountability and says that he don't know what's going to pass because some people don't want to be held accountable, just like his son. But we gonna keep that moving. Step three, realize that they can't find over 30,000 students. And I do think it's more, and I do think it's more than 270 million. But this is what has been accounted for right now currently. And then step four, we become reactionary, as if warnings weren't given. You have policy organizations that came out, did policy work and said HB1, which is the charter bill, okay, the voucher bill. HB1 is going to devastate our public schools. [00:41:17] Speaker B: They came out with research folks. They went out and talked to our legislators about it, and guess what? They still went out there and voted for it and got it passed. [00:41:31] Speaker B: And now that these reports come out now, they're like, oh, we need to have some accountability. Well, duh. We should have had accountability a long time ago before now. And now you got Florida charter schools that are leaving parents frustrated and fed up. And some of these people that are running these networks are very high profile people. So let's go ahead and just go ahead and share this link and share this video here because I need y' all to see, you know, you got the wife of a person running for governor with these charter school networks. Let me not even say no more. Let's go ahead and just roll the clip. [00:42:14] Speaker D: Time now for our CBS News investigation into self described classical charter schools growing in popularity nationwide, often pitched as a more conservative alternative to regular public schools. But these tax fair funded school funded schools also tend to operate with less oversight and that's raising some questions. Mark Strassman reports on one school that was launched by a leading school choice advocate who is also the wife of a prominent Florida politician. [00:42:40] Speaker B: Listen, careful. [00:42:41] Speaker D: Parents are feeling betrayed. [00:42:44] Speaker B: I would never ever put my child in this school. [00:42:46] Speaker D: Now Kathleen Sotola walked us up to what was supposed to be Optima Classical Academy in Fort Myers. [00:42:52] Speaker B: Empty, empty, empty. [00:42:55] Speaker D: 279 students enrolled for the 2024 school year, including Sotola's nine year old grandson, Landon. She is his legal guardian regarding gender and race. [00:43:06] Speaker B: I want him to be able to make up his own mind. [00:43:08] Speaker D: You felt that Optima would be less woke? [00:43:11] Speaker B: Yes. [00:43:12] Speaker D: But In May of 2024, Satola received this email saying Optima would not open as planned. It cited economic challenges and lingering instability from Hurricane Ian two years earlier. What was going through Matt? [00:43:26] Speaker B: What am I going to do? [00:43:27] Speaker D: I had told the current school he wasn't coming back. [00:43:29] Speaker B: Where was I going to put my child? [00:43:31] Speaker D: That email came from Erica Donalds, Optima's chief executive. [00:43:35] Speaker B: My biggest success in business is providing the education options that I dreamed of for other families. [00:43:42] Speaker D: Donals, a leading voice for school choice is the wife of Florida Congressman Byron Donalds. He's the Republican frontrunner and next year's Florida's gubernatorial race. [00:43:53] Speaker B: I knew there were so many families out there that were desperate for this option. [00:43:57] Speaker D: Before the school in Fort Myers, she had launched four other classical charter schools across Florida. Our CBS News investigation looked into the tax filings for those four Optima Run schools between 2020 and 2023. They paid roughly 30% of the government funding they received, totaling about $35 million to outside firms that Optima said offered good prices on payroll, it and other back office services. It was eventually disclosed Erica Donnells held a stake in two of those firms, each worth more than $1 million. It is absolutely problematic, but it is not atypical for this industry. For this industry, no. Professor Bruce Baker studies charter schools at the University of Miami. He told us nationally, charter schools generally provide far fewer details about how they spend taxpayer money than traditional public schools. It's not easy at all to follow the money. So is there any accountability? [00:44:58] Speaker B: Presumptively, the accountability is on how well. [00:45:01] Speaker D: They do for students. Baker looked at Optima's student performance and found below average test results in math and reading. [00:45:09] Speaker B: Florida's charter sector is not strong, and. [00:45:11] Speaker D: Optima schools, at least the four schools that seem to be in that affiliated. [00:45:14] Speaker B: Mix, perform even less well. [00:45:17] Speaker D: According to the former principal at this Optuma run school, students excelled. And while a 2023 audit praised outstanding financial health, some faculty complained Optima operated more like a franchising corporation and was dedicated to profit, sometimes to the detriment of the school itself, concerns Optima pledged to address. [00:45:39] Speaker B: I wanted to find an alternative, so I was really excited. Everybody was excited about it. [00:45:45] Speaker D: For the past two years, Brianna Hadley tried to enroll her eight year old daughter Bella in Optima Academy in Fort Myers, the school that never opened its doors. [00:45:54] Speaker B: These are our kids. They're our world. So if you're gonna have a school, if you're gonna offer services, then offer them. If you're not, then just leave us alone. [00:46:03] Speaker D: Erica Donnells declined an interview. In a statement, a spokesperson said she is an accomplished businesswoman with a strong record of starting successful charter schools and providing thousands of students with an excellent education. [00:46:16] Speaker B: I feel cheated, and these kids were cheated. It's heartbreaking. [00:46:20] Speaker D: Since the Fort Myers school never opened, it never collected any public money. But in a charter school system with limited public accountability, Kathleen Sotola's Optima experience left her with questions. They just dropped the ball and ran. [00:46:34] Speaker B: How can you do something like this. [00:46:36] Speaker D: And sell this to parents who really. [00:46:38] Speaker B: Want to stay involved with their children and then just walk away? [00:46:43] Speaker D: Donald's management company no longer operates any of those original Optima schools. A source close to her told us Optima partnered with these schools in their early years until they reached full stability. There seems little chance Optima Academy will ever open at that Fort Myers location. Back in October, the county school board approved the transfer of the building to another charter school company. Nate. All right, Mark, thank you. [00:47:13] Speaker B: Okay. [00:47:19] Speaker B: So. So you see how this is a problem. [00:47:24] Speaker B: And. And be very clear that this is happening with different charter schools across the state of Florida. I also want to just note, in case you forgot, I did highlight on Season four. And I did document to let y' all know that homeschooling is on the rise in the state of Florida. So not only are we competing with these different charter school networks that are promising these things and not delivering, but then you now have the highest number of students that are homeschool in the country, y'. All. [00:48:03] Speaker B: If you don't see how dangerous that is, I don't. I. [00:48:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I want you to just do some research on the literacy rates and the math proficiency rates in the state of Florida, not just for children, but our adults. And then compound that to just say our adults are now homeschooling our children because they want to be in places where it's anti woke, which, what does that even mean, really? At the end of the day, we continue to move the goalposts. We continue to have these different narratives out here. And ultimately, our kids didn't ask for this. Like I said in the last episode, when we say it's for the kids, the question should be, well, for who? Whose children? Because I'm just trying to figure out how these schools are being created. And then there is no accountability. And yet you have lawmakers that will go to Tallahassee, go to the Capitol and say we need accountability. And in some cases, they say we need accountability, transparency, and integr. [00:49:12] Speaker B: And some of them not operating with integrity offline and online. [00:49:23] Speaker B: If you can see that. I'm very passionate about this because I'm telling you, our. Our kids, our children, they deserve better. They. They deserve better than this. They didn't ask for this. And I just want to uplift that. Hey, folks, we need to be attention. We need to be intentional. We need to talk about the things that are happening. So, okay, let me give you a hypothetical situation with these Schools of Hope and to highlight the real world impacts of what we're talking about. All right, so you're the principal of a public elementary school in a low income neighborhood. Okay, follow me. Your school serves around 500 students. 40% have special needs. 70% qualify for free and reduced lunch. You're at capacity. Every classroom is full. Okay? The state says you're failing based on your standardized test scores. So the state solution, a School of Hope Charter, is going to move into your building so they'll get 10 of your classrooms, shared access to your gym, cafeteria, the right to recruit your students. Now you have 500 students and 30% less space, mind you, every classroom was full. But now you're competing with this charter school that's coming into your building. And now you get 30% less space. Follow me, follow me. The charter school opens in your school with 200 students and mostly general education, okay? So your test scores get worse because you lost some of the higher performing students. And you're teaching in the hallways because you don't have room for them because you're already at capacity. The charter schools tests look great because they have smaller classes and they have a selective student body, which by the way, the calculations on how they do let me not even go there. So then the state points to the charter success and your continued failure. And then they give charter schools more classrooms, you lose more space. You see, the cycle continues. Let me share the screen. I know y' all do good with, with charts and figures and stuff like that. Again, I'm gonna make it real pretty when I get off here so that y' all could see this with intention, but let's just go ahead and look again at the broken system. So you have a underfunded public school. We label them failing. Okay. I've just highlighted that there's over 400% of them that are now labeled failing because of a senate bill, okay. Recently. All right, so you label them failing, then you force charter co location. Okay? So now that diverts more resources to charters. And then public schools continue to struggle. Okay? And then we repeat, it's a cycle. This is continuing to happen. Okay? So this is why the Florida Education Commissioner got booed, because the leaders are tired. They are tired. This is a pattern. Okay, so let's talk about the six Ds. Okay? So the six Ds of education reform. You ready? So what we're going to do is we going to defund public education. Okay? And then we're going to devalue the professionals that work in it. We're going to destabilize the oversight systems because where oversight, where's accountability? Then we're going to declare that public schools are failing. In fact, we're going to pass a bill to increase the number of failing schools so that we can have more opportunities with these charter networks. Uh huh. And then we're going to divert the funding to private alternatives. And then we're going to dismantle what's left. This is what I'm calling the six Ds of education reform. And every step is happening right now. [00:53:30] Speaker B: Folks, community, hear me. Pay attention when I tell you this is serious for me. This is something that I research, I investigate, I go get the receipts, I ask questions. Because the dismantling of education is something that I've been Talking about when I was working in the education system, and while there are people that are so invested in my tenure with Hillsborough County Public Schools and will lie and create fake pages and to talk about it. What are you doing? [00:54:03] Speaker B: How are you making an impact? Because if you're not, shut up, please. [00:54:11] Speaker B: Because our children deserve better. Our children didn't ask for this. And we need people to be intentional. All of this, okay, 20, 26 midterms, is going to be very, very serious. You need to be registered to vote, and you need to know everybody's name on this goddamn ballot. Hear me when I say. Hear me when I tell you you need to know everyone's name down the ballot and vote intentionally when you do. [00:54:40] Speaker B: So the question is, who benefits? Just like the last episode where I was like, when they say it's for the kids, and I'm like, well, whose kids? I have questions, okay, who benefits? Because it's not students, because they're losing resources, they're losing experienced teachers, and they're losing stable schools. It's not the educators, because they're being devalued. They're overworked, and they're blamed for systemic failures. And it's not the communities, because they're losing local control. They're losing school buildings, they're losing accountability. So who does this benefit? I see that it benefits the charter operators who get these public buildings for free. I see the private schools that get voucher money with no accountability. Again, $270 million unaccounted for, people asking questions. Nobody really held accountable about the situation. And they gonna be talking about this in session coming up real soon. I hope that you tune in. I hope that you pay attention to what these legislators are saying, because the audit is very clear, 27 pages at that. [00:55:45] Speaker B: Then you got politicians that claim that they are fixing education and they are literally destroying public schools. You got Rhonda Santa stand up there, and anytime he talks about education, he got a sign that says, Florida, the education state. How is that when you pay teachers 50th in the nation? [00:56:07] Speaker B: How is that when you have over 420% of increase of failing schools from the previous school year? [00:56:18] Speaker B: How do you have that when you have over $270 million unaccounted for and 30,000 students. [00:56:27] Speaker B: Not tracked? [00:56:33] Speaker B: And the companies that profit from this educational chaos, the testing companies, the curriculum vendors, and private loan providers, folks, follow the money. Follow the money. Because again, we're seeing that it's getting even harder to find the money, because they can't even find it. They can't even follow it. That's what the reports say. So again, don't, don't be mad at me. Be mad at the receipts. So here we go. I'm closing you with this of what you can do. Okay? So for those of you that are listening, that are watching again, if you're live, I'm thankful that you are here, that you're in the comments, that you're engaging, and also for the folks that are part of the Replay ministry, you might not be watching this live, but you watching it now. Thank you. I appreciate it. So what you can do is pay attention. These stories get buried. Share them, talk about them. Make people see what's happening. Second, support our educators, our teachers, our nurses, our counselors. Tell them that you see them. Buy school supplies, advocate for better pay, vote for school funding. [00:57:39] Speaker B: Three, attend school board meetings. Ask questions about the missing money. Depends on demand transparency about voucher programs. Hold local leaders accountable. [00:57:50] Speaker B: Four, contact your representatives. Ask them why nurses aren't professional. Ask them about the missing money and where it went. Ask them who benefits from dismantling the Department of Education. [00:58:04] Speaker B: Five, vote school boards, state legislators, Congress. These are the people that are making these decisions. Hold them accountable. Know their name, know what their duties and responsibilities are. And the more that you pay attention, the more that you see that all of this is very systemic. You got to follow the money. Who isn't? Who is in charge is who got the money? Hello. [00:58:31] Speaker B: So for the folks that are doing all this infighting, okay, if we're going to talk about politics, you got a lot of people that are talking about these Democratic leaders in the state of Florida, but hello, they are in a super minority. They don't have that power. Okay, I hate to be the bear, bad news, but you have some Democrat leaders that are at Tallahassee right now, powerless. Why? Because there is more Republicans that are going to upvote on the things that they want to vote for. So this is why voting across the board needs to be very intentional. And regardless of what side that you are on the aisle again, you got some really good Democrats and you got some really good Republicans. And you got some really bad Democrats. You got some really bad Republicans. I'm telling you, be intentional down the aisle, knowing their name, knowing what they stand for, and holding them accountable for the things that they're signing up for as they are voting on your behalf. We the people, you, your children, your legacy. And the last thing, number six, tell the truth. Share your confessionals. If you're an educator, find ways to speak up safely. If you are a parent, share what you're seeing. If you are a student, tell your story. Because our children deserve better. And always, like I always say, people lie. Receipts don't. [00:59:52] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Now, before I depart from here, there are some things that I want to be very intentional with before I close out of here today when I tell you there has been so much that has been said on this Internet and things that have been done. And since I'm here in the States, I'm going to make sure that I do everything in my power to hold people accountable. Because I don't understand why after all of these years, it is continuing to happen. I don't understand why we continue to have this back and forth when it should not even be. [01:00:39] Speaker B: So. I'm gonna close you out with a song because this is a song that I'm going to continue to play because I'm going to sit here and continue to tell you that somebody needs to hold Keto Nora Hodges accountable for the things that he's doing on that Ben Banneker Facebook page. Okay? Somebody need to do something about that. There have been people that have came forward to say that they know that he is on the page because he's bragged about it and talked about it. And there's certain people that have reached out to him and he's act like he don't know nothing about it, but I know it's him. And again, I'm going to continue to uplift the Hillsboro naacp. There were legal correspondence that were not public record that was talked about on that fake Facebook page. And before I go and check out what's going to be talked about on other shows, I just want to uplift right now that Joe Robinson, the fact that he called that radio show and just completely forgot the part that the reason why we talking about it is because the cease and desist that I provided him for lying on me on the radio is why I'm talking about it, is why we're even here in the first place. [01:01:47] Speaker B: So to Joe Robinson, again, I'm going to continue to uplift. Don't lie on me. That's why we're here. And to Keto Nord Hodges again, keep my name out your mouth, because I don't understand why you guys smoke with me. I don't. Other than me holding you accountable for you doing your political side hustle while you're on the clock for Hillsborough County Public Schools, which is being investigated, by the way. So I just hope that you really chill out. Because now you done put board members names in situations and now they upset about it. Because you out here lying on the Internet, sir. And for what? Bravo. [01:02:28] Speaker B: And if I'm lying, sue me. Roll the clip. [01:02:35] Speaker A: We gather here today in the name of truth and digital justice. [01:02:42] Speaker A: Five years. Five years of harassment. [01:02:47] Speaker A: But honey, today we serve the receipts. Hot, fresh and piping petty keto. This one's for you, sir. Because people lie. [01:03:00] Speaker A: But receipts don't. Five long years of fake names, fake games. Spreading your lies, but receipts don't hold the flames. You thought you were hidden but truth don't sleep. And I got the screenshots, the evidence deep. You wanna test me, then do it in court. But don't get it twisted, that's your last resort. I'm not filing nothing, I'm just living free. If you think I'm lying, than to me. [01:03:37] Speaker A: Sue me. [01:03:41] Speaker A: Five years ahead has met you can hide people. [01:03:50] Speaker A: And I got evidence to expose it all. I said what I said ain't taking it back. Accountability coming on track. You want the car then step on through. But the burden ain't mine, it's all on you. Y You're doing this mess on district time. District time. When children in your class should be on your mind. This ain't the first time you've been pulled aside warnings ignored, Lord still running your life. So I ask these for do your values align? Cuz he's repping your name While crossing the line the cease and the nail in the l. [01:04:43] Speaker A: But I know what you did. [01:04:55] Speaker B: So like I said to the boards that Kato nor Hodges is a part of. Okay, I'm asking, does the things that he do on the Internet behind this fake page, does that align with your values? Okay, There are people that have came forward to say it is him. And even though he might lie and say it's not him, why are these people saying that it is? And I don't know. The only way that we gonna know if it's him for sure is if we have subpoenas where we subpoena Google for the account that was used to put my personnel file on the Internet with my driver's license, my Social Security card, my i9, and all of that important details. And we go ahead and subpoena the Facebook page and the IP address that's used. And also subpoena the VPN that's being used as well. [01:05:48] Speaker B: That's how we're gonna know with fidelity. But he's told people that he's a part of this page. So I'm at the Courthouse again, I invite him. If I'm lying, then please sue me so that we can go ahead and have these depositions, that we can go ahead and go through this process. I'm not initiating nothing. I done dealt with a multi year. [01:06:10] Speaker B: Thousands of dollars of a trademark dispute. Thankful that we are victorious. Thankful that we have our name. But for you to go on this page and to continue to talk about teaching for the culture and the things that we're doing in this organization, sir, really move on. Okay, so this is going to be my time of addressing it. And while I'm here for the next couple of weeks in the state of Florida, before I go on this plane and go back home to Peru, I'm here to tell you I'm not playing. I'm not playing with none of y', all, okay? Y' all can continue to do all that talking, y' all can continue to do all that riff raff, but I'm here to advocate for children, period. Full stop. I told you I'm not the one. Don't play with me and don't start. So again, to the boards, okay? I'm calling you out by name because again, all this is serious for me. So the CDC of Tampa, Kayl Nor Hodges is on your board. Does he align with your values? Metropolitan Ministries. Cato Nord is on your board. In fact, it's captured and documented that he's been doing school board. I'm sorry, not school board board meetings while in the classroom. People sent me screenshots of him posting him in the classroom doing board meetings with your organization when he should be on the clock working with the children. Okay, stop playing with me. Don't do it. Okay, people, I receives. Don't. And I'm a stand 10 toes on it. And again, I'm not out here going to be lying on people. But this has been happening for over five years, folks. So don't tell me how to respond to something if you ain't dealing with it. My heart failure has been talked about, My divorce has been talked about, and my personal information, my driver's license, Social Security card, i9. All of that has been exposed on this page. So don't tell me how to respond. Now, it's been over five years. And again, to Yvette Lewis, I'm looking to you, ma', am, the president of the naacp, because there was correspondence and documents that he had access to and why. [01:08:17] Speaker B: And then Joe Robinson confirmed that it was Cato. And he would know why. Because the time that the cease and desist came out was when the page was doing what it was doing. So. Hello. [01:08:31] Speaker B: And then I find out that Joe Robinson received a letter and he is no longer a part of the NAACP because some went down. I don't know. It's too much mess. It's too much mess. It's not about the kids. So I'm gonna just shift over to say, people lie. Receipts. Don't govern yourselves accordingly to the things that I've highlighted and shared with you. And don't play with me, don't play with my family, don't play with my name, because I'm going to continue to stand ten toes about that. Because you only get one name, period. Okay? So with that being said, let me go ahead and transition and tell you that you are worthy, that you are enough, that you are resilient, you are strong. And I'm sending you love, light and peace. As you are out here navigating, don't let these people play with you. Continue to show up unapologetically, you're gonna have people that talk about you. You're gonna have people that lie on you. Let them. The book by Mel Robbins changed my life. And I will continue to talk about it because that book was very, very transformational for me to just let people be. Because people gonna people. And life is going to continue to life. So as I'm dealing with grief and the complexities of life, knowing that life is fragile, life is short. I'm going to continue to live it to the fullest. And I am going to also hold people accountable and say a thing, because I am a snitch, a certified one, and I've been very transparent about that. So I hope that y' all have an amazing Saturday. Sending y' all love, light and peace. And until next time, bye. [01:10:35] Speaker A: Sa.