ORLANDO, Fla. — Administrators of two Central Florida private schools are defending their educational missions after Governor Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Education to suspend the state’s school choice voucher program at four schools across the state, accusing the schools of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

What You Need To Know

  • Administrators of two Central Florida private schools are defending their educational missions after Governor Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Education to suspend the state’s school choice voucher program at four schools across the state

  • DeSantis says a Florida Department of Education investigation revealed the schools have ties to the Chinese Communist Party

  • The head of Park Maitland School, one of the four schools impacted, denies any involvement in the CCP

The voucher program now allows parents to use thousands of dollars of state money to subsidize the enrollment of their children into private schools of their choice. Two of the schools are in Central Florida and two others impacted are in South Florida.

Josyln and David Bear both went to Park Maitland School when they were young and now the couple has two children enrolled at the school.

“The kids come home every day just so excited about what they’ve been doing. It’s an awesome place, so wanted them to have the education we had,” said Joslyn.

She says when she and her husband went to Park Maitland; the school was family-owned. They say they didn’t know the company that now owns the school has owners connected to China. But they say there’s no instruction related to China or communism.

“This is an international world. People own companies that live all over the planet. That doesn’t make them bad actors, and it certainly doesn’t make their company some nefarious operation that’s implementing a conspiracy that’s trying to infiltrate the minds of our children with communism,” said David.

“We were not contacted in advance and are seeking more information regarding the basis for this decision,” said Michael Anna, Head of School at Park Maitland School. “In the meantime, we will be working directly with our families to ensure they can remain enrolled in our school. We are regularly acknowledged as one of the best private schools in our area and have a track record of delivering outstanding educational outcomes, which is why parents choose us. Our schools are locally run, abide by local, state, and federal laws, and do not have ties to any government or political party, either foreign or domestic. Our curriculum is accredited, standards-based, and academically rigorous.”

When Spectrum News asked state leaders about the investigation that led to the suspension of state funds at the schools, they sent a link to one of the schools’ websites that openly states on the site that the schools are operated by Spring Education Group, which is controlled by Primavera Holdings Limited, an investment firm principally based in Hong Kong with operations in China, Singapore, and the United States, that is itself owned by Chinese persons residing in Hong Kong.

The Bears say without the voucher funds, they will still be able to afford to keep their kids at Park Maitland, but they worry other parents won’t be able to.

“Kids that are enrolled in parkland are going to leave. The governor’s press release said it right in there, ‘contact us and we’ll find new schools for you to go to,’ and they’ve contemplated it themselves,” said Bear. “So we have great concerns that our kids’ friends are going to be pulled out of the schools by their parents who budgeted with the promise from Tallahassee, which has now been pulled away from them.”

The Bears say they now have safety concerns at Park Maitland School because of the spotlight the states’ actions put on the school. They were informed by the school security would be stepped up more than normal. Maitland Police could be seen at the school on Monday.