The Greenberg interview shows that the investigators who built the case against Paris, Foglesong and Iannotti were interested in matters far afield of the “ghost” candidate scheme, as they quizzed Greenberg on a wide variety of local political controversies and figures. Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started. The revelations come on the heels of a guilty verdict in the trial of Seminole County GOP Chairman Ben Paris, who was accused of arranging to put his cousin’s name on the financial contribution reports for independent state Senate candidate Jestine Iannotti. Johns River Water Management District board chair John Miklos got “greased off” in exchange for help approving permits for developments in sensitive areas. Greenberg described how the person, a Central Florida developer, directed lawmakers to file legislation intended to benefit their projects.ĭuring the nearly three-hour interview, Greenberg also told investigators that Brodeur “absolutely” knew about the scheme designed to siphon votes away from his Democratic opponent and that former St. Matt Gaetz, Greenberg’s close associate who is reportedly under federal investigation for sex trafficking.īut Greenberg discussed plenty of other public figures, including people who worked for him during his turbulent four-year stint in the tax collector’s office, during the interview with Chief Assistant State Attorney Stacey Straub Salmons and two FDLE investigators.Īnd he says someone close to Brodeur - whose name is redacted from the transcript because of the ongoing investigation - wields enormous power and influence. But I also believe in accountability.The unredacted portion doesn’t mention U.S. Now that Plasencia knows that, maybe he can persuade his peers to do something about it. And it ignores the point that many parents don’t even know about the unqualified teachers because the state doesn’t require them to disclose that information. Republican leaders, and some Democrats, argue they don’t need all these pesky accountability rules - that the best check and balance for school choice is choice itself unhappy parents can simply switch schools.Įxcept that doesn’t do anything to ensure that taxpayers are actually funding meaningful education. That’s what any normal person who believes in accountability would assume.īut normal people who believe in accountability don’t run the Florida Legislature. In some ways, I don’t blame Plasencia, who used to be a public school teacher himself, for assuming that all teachers at Florida’s publicly funded schools are provably qualified. I forwarded the education department’s statement to Plasencia … twice. It’d be even nicer if they tried to do something about it. It’d be nice if the people who write the laws of this state knew that as well. As you know, per state law we are not required to collect the information you requested.” Here was the response from the spokeswoman for the Department of Education: So I sent the Florida Department of Education an email and asked for a list of the teacher qualifications at six local voucher schools - including Winners Primary and Esther’s School in Osceola, where our reporters had previously found two teachers who lacked high school diplomas. The Sentinel newsroom has spent years trying to determine teacher qualifications at voucher schools, only to be rebuffed.īut when you cover politics, you sometimes have to prove that water is wet and the sky is blue. That’s when Plasencia said we were wrong again - that these schools have to report such information to the state and that anyone can find this information.Īgain, I knew he was wrong. “They don’t have to report this information.” “How do you know that?” asked Opinion editor Mike Lafferty. ![]() Still, Plasencia then claimed the “overwhelming majority” of voucher teachers are qualified and excellent. Plasencia finally conceded: “I guess there could be potentially someone who doesn’t have a high school diploma … “ ![]() Voucher schools can claim any old life experience qualifies as “special skills” or “knowledge” - which is why we have dropouts teaching. That, my friends, is a loophole big enough for a Mack truck. But then I suggested Plasencia read the rest of the sentence in that statute - the part that says they must have those things or “have special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in subjects taught.” Plasencia then read part of a state statute that says voucher-school teachers are required to have college degrees or three years of teaching experience. It was like hearing someone tell you that a cat is a dog. “You guys were getting something wrong consistently over and over again,” he said.
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