SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES WHO
ALIGN WITH HIS AGENDA.
JOINING ME NOW IS NEW YORK POST
COLUMNIST KAROL MARKOWITZ WHO
USED TOLY IN NEW YORK, NOW LIVES
MT. GREAT STATE OF FLORIDA.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
YOU KNOW, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE,
THE MEDIA IS ALL OVER THIS, YOU
KNOW, WITH THESE FRIGHTENING
IMAGES OF DeSANTIS AS BEING
THE PUTMASTER CONTROL --
PUTMASTER -- PUPPETMASTER.
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA
THINK OF THIS?
>> THE ONES THAT I SPOKE TO LOVE
THAT THE GOVERNOR’S GETTING
INVOLVED IN SCHOOL BOARD RACES.
THEY THINK IT’S TIME THAT SCHOOL
BOARDS WERE TREATED AS IMPORTANT
BY THE ARE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
FOR SO LONG, DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN
GETTING INVOLVED.
THEY GET GEORGE SOROS MONEY,
MONEY, AND YET REPUBLICANS HAVE
NEVER REALLY ANSWERED THIS.
SO I LOVE THE IDEA OF THE
GOVERNOR ASKING SCHOOL BOARD
MEMBERS WHAT THEY BELIEVE AND
SPORTING THEM -- SUPPORTING THEM
BASED ON THAT SO IT’S EASY FOR
VOTERS TO HAVE KIND OF A LIST OR
AGENDA FOR THESE SCHOOL BOARD
MEMBERS AND KNOW WHAT THEY’RE
GETTING.
DAVID: BY THE WAY, I BELIEVE
YOUR KIDS ARE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IN FLORIDA, CORRECT?
>> YEAH.
YES, THEY ARE.
DAVID: SO WHAT IS YOUR
IMPRESSION NOW?
YOU HAVE ABOUT, WHAT, OVER A
YEAR NOW TO COMPARE THE FLORIDA
PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH NEW YORK
PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHICH ARE, OF
COURSE, RUN BY MUCH MORE LIBERAL
SCHOOL BOARDS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
[LAUGHTER]
>> YEAH.
SO WE’VE BEEN HERE SINCE
JANUARY.
I AM SO IMPRESSED, AND WE ALSO
SPENT FIVE MONTHS LAST YEAR MANY
FLORIDA KIND OF DOING A TEST
RUN, SO WE’VE SEEN TWO DIFFERENT
SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN FLORIDA.
AND I’M INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED.
I HAVE KIDS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS,
AND I THINK THAT THE SCHOOLS
HAVE REALLY MET THEM WHERE THEY
ARE.
I’M AMAZED AT THE AMOUNT OF
THINGS SCHOOLS CAN DO WITHOUT A
STATE INCOME TAX.
THE IT’S REALLY AMAZING AND
IMPRESSIVE TO ME.
I’M REALLY -- I LOVE IT.
I THINK IT’S TERRIFIC.
DAVID: YOU KNOW, YOU BRING UP A
GREAT POINT.
I KNOW MONEY IS NOT BIGGEST DEAL
HERE.
WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT OUR KIDS’
FUTURE.
>> YEAH.
DAVID: BUT IN NEW YORK WE’RE
SPENDING $35,000 PER STUDENT TO
EDUCATE THE CAN KIDS, AND WHERE
DOES THAT MONEY GO, YOU KNOW?
THAT’S ALWAYS -- YOU FOLLOW THE
MONEY --
>> THAT’S IT.
DAVID: -- THAT’S THE FIRST RULE
OF JOURNALISM, AND I DON’T KNOW
THE ANSWER TO IT.
I THINK A LOT OF IT IS NOT
NECESSARILY TO THE TEACHERS, BUT
TO THE BUREAUCRACY --
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
DAVID: -- THE SORT OF SCHOOL
BUREAUCRACY WRIT LARGE WHICH
INCLUDES A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT
ARE EXTRANEOUS TO A KID’S
EDUCATION.
>> THAT’S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
SO MUCH OF IT GOES TOWARDS
ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.
BUT THEY ALSO ARE PAYING FOR SO
MANY DIFFERENT BOONDOGGLES LIKE
THE CRT DIFFERENT GROUPS COME IN
AND DO SEMINARS FOR THE TEACHERS
OR BOOKS ARE BOUGHT ON THESE
TOPICS, AND THIS DOESN’T EXIST
IN FLORIDA.
SO IT’S LIKE I ALWAYS SAY, YOU
KNOW, EVERY MINUTE THAT IS SPENT
ON CRT OR GENDER IDEOLOGY IS A
MINUTE NOT SPENT ON MATH AND
READING.
BUT THE SAME THING IS TRUE FOR
MONEY.
EVERY DOLLAR THAT IS SPENT ON
CRT CONSULTANTS IS A $NOT SPENT
ON -- DOLLAR NOT SPENT ON TEXT
BOOKS, AND I’LL RAE DOES --
REALLY DOES LEAD TO A BETTER
EDUCATION HERE.
DAVID: OBVIOUSLY, THERE WAS ALL
KINDS OF MISINFORMATION ABOUT
THAT, THE NEW RULES THAT
DeSANTIS IMPLEMENTED, THE
RULES FORBIDDING --
>> YEAH.
DAVID: -- THE KIND OF TEACHING
TO YOUNG KIDS THAT IS JUST
TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE
PARTICULARLY TO YOUNG KIDS.
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
DAVID: WHAT HAS BEEN -- HAS
THERE BEEN ENOUGH EXPOSURE TO
THAT NEW POLICY TO TELL YOU
WHETHER IT’S WORKING OR NOT?
>> WELL, NOT QUITE YET.
BUT I THINK IT’S SUCH AN OBVIOUS
POLICY.
LAW IS CALLED PARENTAL RIGHTS IN
EDUCATION.
IT’S NOT ANYTHING ELSE.
IT TELLS YOU THAT YOU HAVE THE
RIGHT FOR YOUR SMALL CHILD NOT
TO LEARN GENDER IDEOLOGY IN THE
CLASSROOM WHEN THEY’RE IN KINDER
GOTTEN -- KINDERGARTEN THROUGH
THIRD GRADE.
THERE’S NOTHING CRAZY ABOUT
THIS.
WHAT PARENT WANTS THEIR FIRST
GRADE KID LEARNING ABOUT, YOU
KNOW, THAT THEY COULD BE A GIRL
ONE DAY AND A BOY THE NEXT DAY
INSTEAD OF LEARNING HOW TO READ
OR LEARNING ABOUT MATH?
I THINK IT’S JUST SUCH AN
OBVIOUS THING, AND I HAVE YET TO
MEET A SINGLE FLORIDIAN OF ANY
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY STRIPE THAT
DOES NOT SUPPORT IT.
DAVID: AND, BY THE WAY, IT IS
NOT NEUTRAL.
IT IS NOT A NEUTRAL EXPLANATION
OF, WELL, THERE’S THIS WAY AND
AHA WAY.
IT IS PUSHING AN IDEOLOGY,
PUSHING A VERY DEFINITIVE
IDEOLOGY.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
DAVID: THE OTHER THING IS IT IS
CROWDING, ALL THIS OTHER STUFF
IS CROWDING OUT THE BASIC THREE
Rs.
>> THAT’S IT.
DAVID: AND AS WE KNOW, ALL
ACROSS THE COUNTRY EVEN BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC, BY THE WAY, WE’VE
SEEN TEST SCORES GO DOWN AND
DOWN.
THE MORE MONEY WE SPEND, THERE’S
AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO
SPENDING MONEY AND THE TEST
SCORES.
>> YEP.
DAVID: IS THAT CHANGING AT ALL
IN FLORIDA MANY -- IN FLORIDA?
>> SO YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
I THINK ALL THE SCHOOLS THAT
USED TO FOCUS ON THE OLD
BUZZWORD, WHICH WAS MULKEY
CULTURALLISM, ALSO --
MULTICULTURALISM.
EVERY MINUTE YOU SPEND ON SOME
OTHER NONSENSE IS A MINUTE YOU
DON’T SPEND ON ACADEMIC
SUBJECTS.
EVEN IF YOU ARE ON THE LEFT, AND
I’VE MET LIBERAL PROJECTS --
PARENTS WHO SUPPORT THIS LAW IN
FLORIDA, AND HAY BELIEVE THAT,
YEAH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE I WANT TO
TEACH MY KIDS AT HOME, BUT I
DON’T WANT THEM LEARNING IT IN
SCHOOL BECAUSE IT DETRACTING
FROM THEIR ACADEMIC LEARNING.
IT’S SO OBVIOUS.
AND I THINK SO MANY THINGS
GOVERNOR DeSANTIS DOES IS
OBVIOUS, AND HE’S A PARENT AND
HE KNOWS.
DAVID: IF WE’RE GOING TO COMPETE
WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD,
WE’VE GOT TO GET BETTER AT
GETTING THOSE TEST SCORES UP.