Ron DeSantis and Manny Diaz spent $55K of our money on charter school conference hotel rooms
LOL. I have some questions. #1: Did I pay for Ralph Arza's suite? #2 Who had the best party room? #3 WTF?
The same people who brought you the massive, ongoing DoE/Jefferson County charter scandal threw themselves a big shindig last weekend at Orlando’s Caribe Royale Resort. And you, dear taxpayer, paid $55,470 for 215 rooms (430 room nights), thanks to Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz.
You should really check out this video of the Caribe. Classy place.
Here are links to the The Florida Department of Education’s two contract forms for the conference, which CFO Jimmy Patronis signed off on.
It comes out to $129 per room. The “general description” that justifies the spending says:
Hotel Guest Rooms to be provided for required attendees to the 2022 Florida Charter School Conference (FCSC), in Orlando, FL on October 19-22, 2022. The FCSC is imperative to meeting the deliverables to the Department's CSP grant which provides administration of technical assistance. This contract agreement will cover hotel costs for approved Charter School Program (CSP) sub-grantees and School Leaders Fellows (SLF).
Honestly, these people grift so hard it’s almost charming.
Ralph Arza, did I buy your room?
The sponsors of the conference — other than you, dear taxpayer — are the usual suspects.
You’ll probably recognize the Florida Charter School Alliance. Its “Director of Government Relations” is Ralph Arza, a famously racist convicted criminal witness tamperer once kicked out of Florida Legislature.
Ron DeSantis’s 2018 campaign called Arza’s racist criminal behavior “disgusting” and banished him from hosting a fundraiser.
Ralph is also forehead deep in the DoE/Jefferson charter scandal. Background on all that here.
So my first question, just for giggles: Did I pay for Ralph’s room? And I can see the actual room please? I bet he got upgraded.
More questions for DoE and charter grifters to ignore
Who are the “required attendees” identified on the contract? Are they all DoE employees? Can I please get a list of their names and titles?
Are “approved Charter School Program (CSP) sub-grantees and School Leaders Fellows (SLF)” different from “required attendees?” If so, can I get a list of their names and titles?
In what way is the Caribe — a luxury resort — “imperative to meeting the deliverables to the Department's CSP grant?” What are those deliverables? Can you provide a list?
Did Gov. Ron DeSantis and CFO Patronis personally sign off on this expenditure?
Look, ain’t no party like a charter school party. I get it. We’ve all seen how IDEA rolls.
I just want to compare who’s living larger among these humble educators — and get a peek at what “true Floridian Luxury” looks like.
The State Board of Education meeting was held there last week. Parking was $32!