Blue Skies Warm a Cold Day
The Lunch & Launch Seminar Brings Strong Revelations
In every town across the country, heroes emerge daily defending democracy and a way of life that gives America its standing on the world stage. As we watch the cornerstones crumble, the fighters - the real patriots - are picking up the pieces.
In Sarasota, Florida, we have a few heroes of our own. On a blustery January 31 afternoon, public education advocates gathered for a seminar to learn about steps they can take to preserve one of the greatest symbols of community and democracy - the public school system.
SEE Alliance Founder Zander Moricz led the charge with speakers: Sarasota School Board Member, Liz Barker; Manatee School Board Member Heather Felton (and); representing Families for Strong Public Schools, Damaris Allen.
Florida is ground zero for dismantling education as we all known it, starting with millions of dollars in taxpayer money getting ‘lost’ in a voucher system that hasn’t been transparent or held with any accountability.
An already starved and underfunded school system can barely survive under those circumstances, yet it actually thrives. It’s the charter schools, where taxpayer money is also going, that are lowering graduation rates. When taxpayers overwhelmingly voted for a tax referendum in Sarasota (a whopping 80%), citizens thought their money was going solely to public schools. Sadly, this isn’t true.
The way through this corrupt and nefarious maze (that includes Florida teachers being the lowest paid in the United States) demands that the public step up. Felton confidently reminds people to “use your voice. Multitudes have power.”
This methodology has already worked when citizens went to work to save (IB, ACE. . .) programs that were on the chopping block just this past year. Legislators changed direction due to public pressure. Much of it from this area.
“Sarasota has never asked for permission to lead,” Barker told an attentive audience of approximately 75 in attendance, while more watched over Zoom.
There was a time when discussion of public education was boring, but now it has gained attention because of the blatant attacks on people’s alma maters. It’s personal. However, the issues are mostly solvable, and everyone likes being part of a solution.
All the speakers agreed that Democrats are no longer underdogs in the Florida races. They are actually poised to win, but it means working towards that happy victory that will affect all Floridians for the better.
Moricz gives everyone that opportunity to use their skills and make a difference through SEE Alliance. “68% of our members have never done a non-profit before,” he began.
The interest begins with Moricz himself. His engagement with the public is intoxicating and accepting. His SEE Squads are “safe spaces to fight against hatred”. They’re active in 53 of Florida’s 67 school districts.
A new public school advocate, “Cindy” attended the meeting after learning of a resolution that allows “collaboration and cooperation” between ICE and the Sarasota public schools. She noted how moved she was by “the other advocates and Zander”.
This opened up the discussion of ICE, with Moricz decisively explaining that the resolution, written by the Sarasota school board chair, was purely political theatre. The document merely repeats school policy that already exists - reading that all Federal laws must be followed.
Informed Sarasota native Kyle Turoff asked how new laws regarding ICE warrants would affect the school properties, including car lines.
While Moricz said more information on those protections are forthcoming, he divulged information that few knew about. Once the ICE resolution made it as an Agenda item to be voted on, Sarasota District Schools Superintendent Terry Connor, put out a blast to all parents, staff and teachers explaining that the resolution does nothing to change existing policy. He was proactive in understanding the fear that would come with such an unnecessary (and cruel) distraction.
Moricz has created a multi-generational fellowship for social justice and the fight for Democracy. The age range is impressive - starting at 12 years old all the way up to 94.
Moricz’s not-so-secret success lies in practicality. Whatever skills one can contribute, whatever time one can volunteer, he applauds them all. “We have some who work 40 hours a week and others who put in one hour,” he says. Every contribution makes a difference.
First up to speak was Barker, who won her school board seat in 2024, against an incumbent Republican endorsed by the Governor. SEE played a large role in the win, with campaigning action and choices driven by data. Barker spoke facts and heart from a community-centered viewpoint. One attorney called her the “best school board member he has ever seen” in his years of involvement with school board matters.
Liz Barker
Once Barker steps behind the podium, she may as well be on home plate getting ready to hit a home run. She began by stating the purposeful misconception that public education is failing. At Ground Zero, Barker recognizes the “extraordinary work” of educators, which contributed to the highest graduation rate in Sarasota history.
It’s the lack of funding and transparency, which she calls “waste, abuse and fraud”, that is the public school’s greatest enemy. “Accountability and transparency are not partisan issues. $270 million taxpayer dollars are unaccounted for.”
On a positive note, Barker reported that SB318 passed unanimously by the Senate this past month to overhaul school voucher oversight. Key measures include separating voucher funding into a distinct budget line, assigning student IDs, and enabling state access to voucher organization databases.
Further budget conversations, Barker describes as “urgent and active”.
She didn’t mince words when clearly stating the purpose of the recent controversial ICE resolution that was passed by the board majority.
I want to be very clear:
This resolution does not change policy.
It does not change procedure.
It does not improve safety.But it does change something very important: the climate.
This was a majority action driven by the political aspirations of our board chair - not by student need, not by parent request, not by educator input, and not by operational necessity.
It sends a message:
-To teachers: Stay quiet.
-To staff: Don’t advocate too loudly.
-To families: Your presence is conditional.
Public schools function on trust.
This resolution eroded that trust, and that was intentional.
Schools of Hope
Barker had good news regarding Schools of Hope, which is easily described as a takeover of public schools by Charter institutions. A formely undefined ‘underutilized public school space’ could be taken over by a Charter schools with public schools footing the bill. The highly unpopular “co-location” bill has been tightened, but Barker says it doesn’t go far enough.
The new rule changes include:
New schools with underutilized space can’t be touched by a School of Hope for four years. She believes this would include new k-8 school conversions, which Sarasota is implementing.
A charter school can only send out five letters of intent to public school districts throughout the state. “This prevents a fishing expedition,” Barker explained.
Fully used space is now defined as 90%. Schools that are targeted requires that 70% of the school is not used and seats 400 students.
The count for ESE students would be doubled.
The initial proposal in 2017 was that Schools of Hope would be placed in “opportunity zones”. This was designed to serve students who live in federally designated low-income neighborhoods that have low-performing schools. New legislation takes that off the table, with charter schools able to squat in A and B-rated schools, with the public schools footing the bill for transportation, security, food and janitorial services.
She asks that people go to the FDOE Website and continue to bombard the members on the unacceptable and unfair legislation that would allow co-location. More information can be found here on the simple steps to make your voice heard.
Keep it short and to the point. “I’m a taxpayer, and I don’t want public school dollars being spent on charter schools to co-locate on taxpayer owned property.” or “I’m a voter. I want to see public schools funded more fully and teachers get higher salaries, not have funding go towards a squatter that bleeds our public schools dry.”
“Advocacy works!” Barker said. Daily she is being proven right across the country.
Heather Felton
Coming to the podium after Barker could be a tough act to follow, but not for Felton. “We share the same brain,” Felton told the audience and laughed. Touching on bills that Barker left for her to discuss, she exposed emotion rarely seen from a public official when discussing a bill that opens the door for more book bans. The former English teacher spoke wistfully of her favorite book “The Color Purple”, by Alice Walker.
“You read the first two chapters and you think, ‘oh my gosh’,” she began. “You get to chapter three and it all makes sense. The way Celie is able to rebirth herself.”
Cherry-picking words or phrases that could be considered “purient” puts a parent in the “this is what I think” driver’s seat, rather than acknowledging the full educational context that librarians and teachers are aware of.
Even though she was speaking, she was listening. Like the teacher in her that remains, she commented on what a good word an audience member used when saying the word “nebulous” out loud.
She worries about school libraries not carrying books on the loosely worded behest of one or two parents, and then the student won’t have access to the reading material anywhere else. Costs can be prohibitive to many.
This Bill - out of “hundreds on education” falls under HB1119 Materials Harmful to Minors.
Because ICE is a subject that was raised in Sarasota, Felton noted “Not a single event has happened on any of our campuses. That’s the plan to continue.” She emphasized that no demographic information is even in the district’s purview regarding immigrants. “We’re looking out for our kids.”
Felton touched on HB1071, an Omnibus bill that contains 60-plus pages. She spoke of bills on collective bargaining that takes control away from the district and hands it over to the state.
New bills revolving around Florida Universities could prove to be devastating, with Felton pointing out HB1279, which caps enrollment for non-residents.
With Schools of Hope writing letters of intent for two Manatee County Schools, Felton said that word has not come back yet from Tallahassee whether those notices would be approved. She did express relief that the three new schools in Manatee couldn’t be touched.
Felton presented her words that evoked imagery for her enraptured listeners. As she spoke about spending time in Tallahassee, she said she’d see an open door and ask to speak to the lawmaker in that office. Her boots to the ground stories were so inspiring, that when she urged the audience to “Bug the crap out of them”, the audience was onboard.
Damaris Allen
Allen proved that once you believe your voice counts, mountains can be moved. Upon her visit to Tallahassee, legislators were telling her to stop Hillsborough County from contacting them. “We are being heard,” she said, enthusiastically.
She urged people to go to the schoolsofnope.org website for more information on Schools of Hope. Believing that the public’s voice can “change the course of a future”, she urged listeners to go to the Families for Strong Public Schools website.
Moricz closed the two-hour long meeting as he began it - stating data. “The people least likely to vote believe that their vote and voice don’t matter. 1,000,000 people who are registered to vote, chose not to vote.”
He believes 2026 will change that, but it will take work. The recent election in Texas that saw a democrat flipping a bright red district by double digits, proved that the work was worth it.
Back home in Sarasota, battling for school board seats that will result in upvoting will also prove well worth it. Sarasota, after all, “has never asked permission to lead.”
Dear Bubbie takes note that within all the information that was given in the seminar, not one mention was made of the scandalized Sarasota school board chair. She truly is that insignificant and distracting to the causes ahead that are vital to protecting public education.
Coming up. . . we look at the most recent invocation given at the last Sarasota School Board meeting and two bills that nudge religion into the schools. Heather Felton also answered our questions on a book banning bill that we believe is important enough to be a stand-alone blog.
Breaking news. . a candidate for the District Five School Board Seat has been announced. Beth Mayberry will be running against Michelle Pozzi. We hope she uses her name to full branding: “Small town values with big school dreams.” We will be covering all the candidates as the August 2026 primaries come closer.
In the meantime, make sure you’re registered to vote by going here.
Link to some actions people can take to stop co-location:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZO5ZNyHeN_zXCe6HMGwgREpFCW2ic-BcCOs9P-S80Rs/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks for reporting on this. It's very helpful information and a snapshot into grass roots democracy in action.