As a teacher-turned-state lawmaker, Manny Diaz, Jr. was known as a for charter schools in Tallahassee. And during his time as an elected official he took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from leaders in the school choice sector as he helped make Florida a for those looking to the traditional public school model.
Now, as Florida's education commissioner, Diaz is working to ensure that charter schools get millions of dollars in public funds 鈥� money that voters had set aside for traditional public schools in Broward County.
鈥淐ommissioner Diaz, throughout his career as a teacher, administrator, legislator, and Commissioner of Education has been an ardent advocate for students, irrespective of the educational option they choose to pursue,鈥� said Florida Department of Education spokesperson Cailey Myers in response to a request for comment for this story.
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The current dispute dates back to a tax referendum that Broward voters approved back in 2018 to raise millions of dollars to boost funding for school safety and teacher pay in Broward County Public Schools. At the time, the district didn鈥檛 have to share those revenues with charter schools, which are funded with taxpayer dollars but run by private organizations.
Since then, court cases and a new state law have changed that 鈥� requiring traditional public schools to share the funds they raise from tax referendums with charter schools.
State officials say BCPS owes $80 million to charter schools
Now, BPCS is facing lawsuits from charter schools over what they say they鈥檙e owed. And Commissioner Diaz and the State Board of Education aren鈥檛 waiting for the lawsuits to play out.
鈥淏roward owes 鈥� currently owes 鈥� charter schools in its district around $80 million collectively,鈥� said Andrew King, general counsel for the Florida Department of Education. 鈥淎nd because it has yet to pay this money, it is currently not in compliance with state law.鈥�
In legal filings, attorneys for BCPS have argued that the school district鈥檚 鈥渁lready stretched budget cannot withstand an unforeseen payout of this magnitude without dire consequences.鈥�
After Diaz launched an investigation into the charter schools鈥� allegations, the state board met on and formally declared that BCPS is out of compliance with and directed the district to reach an agreement on how much to pay the charter schools by April 17 鈥� or face the consequences. Potential sanctions by the state board could include:
- Reporting to the Legislature that the district is 鈥渦nwilling or unable to comply鈥� with state laws or rules and recommend action to be taken by the Legislature
- Withholding the transfer of state funds, discretionary grant funds or other funds until the district complies
- Declaring the district ineligible for competitive grants
- Requiring monthly or periodic reporting until the issue is resolved
Attorneys for BCPS have been pushing back, arguing that state officials are overstepping the balance of powers between the courts and the executive branch.
鈥淏ecause these lawsuits exist and they are in full litigation right now for breach of contract, it seems like it would be a problem to have another branch sort of interfere with the process that is already being set into place,鈥� said Marylin Batista, general counsel for the Broward County School Board.
It鈥檚 an argument that state officials flatly dismissed.
鈥淥ur authority derives from the constitution. And just because a private party chooses to exercise their rights in court doesn't just mean that all of a sudden we lose our authority to act,鈥� said State Board Chair Ben Gibson. 鈥淪o I reject that.鈥�
And now, Broward School Board Member Daniel Foganholi is calling for Batista to be for her handling of this matter. The board is scheduled to discuss the proposal 鈥� and get an update on negotiations with the charter schools 鈥� at a on April 16.
Teacher, school choice advocate, state regulator
Long before nominated him to be the state鈥檚 in 2022, and long before he became a representing parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Manny Diaz was an educator.
He spent two decades in Miami-Dade County Public Schools as a teacher and assistant principal before moving into the charter school space, where he became closely affiliated with one of the largest charter school networks in the state, Academica.
Diaz was a top administrator at Doral College, which is an Academica-affiliated school where charter students can take dual enrollment classes to earn college credits.
As a state lawmaker, was a go-to advocate for school choice efforts and was one of a with to charter schools who that they and their families had a in.
As an elected official, Diaz and his took tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from , among many other donors and industries, according to a report by and a separate review of campaign finance records by WLRN.
One repeat donor was , a national education management company based in Fort Lauderdale that was founded by , one of the of Florida鈥檚 charter school movement dating back to the era of then-Gov. Jeb Bush.
According to a review of campaign finance filings, Charter Schools USA regularly made $1,000 contributions to Diaz 鈥� the maximum contribution that can be made to an individual legislative candidate under .
CSUSA donated even more to the political committee that Diaz chaired, 鈥� including a $25,000 contribution that came exactly one month after DeSantis tapped Diaz to be the state鈥檚 next commissioner of education.
CSUSA is the that operates a that are now suing BCPS over the millions of dollars in referendum funds they say they鈥檙e owed. It鈥檚 those legal challenges that prompted Diaz and the state board of ed to step in, in an effort to compel BCPS to pay up.
In response to a request for comment on Diaz鈥� past relationships with charter school executives and donors, a spokesperson for FDOE said the commissioner has been 鈥渁n ardent advocate鈥� for students, regardless of which educational options they and their families choose.
鈥淭he Commissioner of Education has a duty and responsibility to ensure that school districts are complying with state law,鈥� spokesperson Cailey Myers said. 鈥淭o suggest that his positions have been influenced by anything other than his commitment to high-quality educational options for all students is a flat-out lie.鈥�
What comes next
BCPS officials and attorneys for the district say they鈥檙e committed to resolving the disputes with the charter schools as soon as possible. But they鈥檝e warned that negotiating a settlement agreement with 87 different charter schools will take time 鈥� and it may not be possible to finish it by April 17, as directed by the state board of ed.
鈥淭he [Broward] board is fully committed to address those concerns and to work as expeditiously as possible,鈥� Batista said. 鈥淭here are 87 schools. So this is no small matter to address in a short period of time.鈥�
The state board is scheduled to take up the issue again at its meeting on April 17. If board members aren鈥檛 satisfied with the progress made by BCPS at that point, state officials could sanction the district 鈥� including by withholding state funds.
