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Private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away

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A private school in Brooksville should be barred from access to state school vouchers after its operator admitted it wasn’t educating students the state paid it to teach, an administrative judge recommended Wednesday.

The episode follows release of a state audit into a state budget strain caused by what lawmakers agree are lax accounting practices in the school choice program.

Little Wings of Prayer, a daycare and private school in Hernando County since 2018, is subject of an investigation opened in 2024 into a mass transfer of students (and their state-funded scholarships) from a separate school two hours away, according to administrative law Judge Robert Telfer III.

“It would be difficult for the undersigned to discern a more obvious and brazen fraudulent scheme than the one undertaken by [Little Wings of Prayer operator] Ms. [Crystal] Harris. This violation, in and of itself, is sufficient to revoke the eligibility of Little Wings to receive scholarship funds,” Telfer wrote in his recommendation to strip the school’s scholarship qualification.

According to the decision, during the 2023-2024 school year, Little Wings submitted invoices to Step Up for Students, an organization administering state vouchers, for students previously enrolled at Touched by an Angel school, 130 miles away in Lake City.

The transfer of about 80 students raised a concern to Step Up, which tipped off investigators.

The Department of Education under then-Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. alleged fraud.

Harris told the judge that about 80 students previously enrolled at the Lake City school enrolled in her school because the Lake City school owner was in bankruptcy and her school was at risk of closing.

Harris testified that during the 2023-2024 school year, her school received state scholarship funds for students that did not physically attend the school and that she did not know it was illegal to do so. Additionally, Harris said she “never took the time out go down there and verify” the Lake City school was in operation.

According to court documents, Harris said she received about 30% of scholarship funds for the Lake City students. After sending those funds to Lake City, she in return received about $70,000 from the Lake City school “that should take care of the taxes for her money, and for audit and all those things.”

The state additionally suggested that Little Wings students were also enrolled in the Columbia County School District, but that evidence was redacted.

The recommendation from the judge leaves the decision about how to proceed up to the Department of Education.

Court documents do not specify the value of the scholarships in question.

The complaint filed by the department includes that Harris has previously pleaded no contest to child abuse charges. The state attempted to use that information to disqualify her from working at a private school. Ultimately, evidence on that front was deemed “inconclusive.”

The Department of Education alleged, too, that Little Wings did not maintain or submit fire safety and health inspections and failed to notify the state of a change in its physical location within 15 days after moving.

Lawmakers working on it
State legislators last week reviewed a state audit that found the school choice scholarship program in Florida exhibited “a myriad of accountability problems.”

The 22-page audit found that in 2024-2025, the Department of Education paid $655 million to middleman scholarship funding organizations, as statutes prescribe, before school started.

“Any improper payments, any ineligible amounts, you’re paying and chasing those amounts, because the dollar’s already gone out the door,” the auditor said.

Sen. Don Gaetz said that at any given moment the state does not know where 30,000 students are in terms of school categories — traditional public or voucher-supported private or home schools — together worth $270 million in education support.

Gaetz is sponsor of a lengthy bill that looks to address some of the accounting problems in the voucher program, which became universally accessible in 2023.

Gaetz’s bill would require the Department of Education to investigate written complaints from parents, students, and schools regarding school choice laws and investigate fraudulent activity and overpayment, and refer them to the Department of Financial Services for potential criminal investigation.

Private schools that do not properly attest that a child attends could be investigated for fraud and would have to repay the money, according to the bill.

However, the House does not seem to be fully on board with the Senate proposal. The legislative session begins in January.

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Jay Waagmeester reports via Florida Phoenix, a part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].



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Last Call for 1.19.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Did Christina Pushaw break the law by asking gubernatorial candidate James Fishback to delete text messages the two exchanged in recent months?

Maybe.

Pushaw, who earns a $179,000 tax-funded salary as a senior management analyst for Gov. Ron DeSantis, all but confirmed the authenticity of texts between her and Fishback in which she appears to have written, “I need you to confirm that you deleted everything with my name on it.”

The exchange has raised questions about whether she solicited the destruction of public records, which would be illegal if the messages involved her government duties, but likely not if they were strictly campaign-related, as she says.

Fishback posted a screenshot of the exchange following a public blowup between the two after they, according to Pushaw, spoke “frequently” since October about Fishback’s campaign.

On X, Pushaw accused Fishback of deception, writing: “Thanks for proving my point that you have no qualms about lying and revealing private messages. I truly believed that we were friends, and I feel sickened and violated by this betrayal.”

Pushaw, who has worked for DeSantis as both a campaign and government staffer, says she was never paid for advising Fishback and never told the Governor about her communications with Fishback.

In a brief phone interview on Monday, she said none of her messages with Fishback touched her state job.

“I never talked to him about government business,” she said. She declined to explicitly confirm the authenticity of Fishback’s screenshots, including one that referenced her government position.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—“Donald Trump ties Greenland takeover bid to Nobel Prize in text to Norway leader” via Ellen Francis and Steve Hendrix of The Washington Post

—”Trump’s letter to Norway should be the last straw” via Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic

—”Trump’s Greenland move is one of the dumbest political decisions I have ever seen” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—”The race to build the DeepSeek of Europe is on” via Joel Khalili of WIRED

—”Three maps tell a tale of the 2026 Midterms.” via Ashley Cai and Shane Goldmacher of The New York Times

—”Orlando Sentinel 150: Remembering MLK’s only visit to Orlando in 1964” via the Orlando Sentinel

—“Jeff Brandes: Six ideas Legislature can’t afford to ignore in 2026” via Jeff Brandes for Florida Politics

—”The Indiana-Miami CFP game is the Hollywood tangle we didn’t know we needed” via Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter

—”‘It shaped my DNA’: The very Miami story of Mario Cristobal” via Andrea Adelson of ESPN

—”Two other Hoosiers from Miami are coming home, too — and could play a big role” via David J. Neal and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald

Quote of the Day

“I didn’t vote for this weather.”

Marc Caputo on a frigid morning in Miami.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

Even though it’s booze-free, the Duval delegation could use a Cortisol Cocktail to calm their nerves after a bomb threat landed in their inboxes.

Disney and Universal are getting an Investigators Rite, courtesy of Central Florida Democrats, who are requesting they look into a company that operates independent restaurants on their properties.

Someone should’ve sent an Out of Office for Attorney General James Uthmeier, because he picked an odd day to drop his latest opinion.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Miami plays for national title at home

The Miami Hurricanes try for the program’s first national championship since 2001 when they face top-seeded Indiana at Hard Rock Stadium tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Miami entered the College Football Playoff as the 10th seed and knocked off Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss to reach the finals. The Hurricanes (13-2) have benefitted from a defense that has limited opponents to 14 points per game this season. Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. was named the ACC defensive player of the year and is a likely Top 10 pick in the NFL Draft.

Indiana (15-0) has enjoyed the greatest season in program history. In the second season under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have not only won more games than they ever have in a season, but also more than the program ever did in two consecutive seasons combined before Cignetti’s arrival.

The Hoosiers are led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

The two programs have met twice in history, with Indiana winning the first meeting in 1964 and the Hurricanes taking the return match in 1966. The two programs have not met since.

The last time a college football team won the national championship by winning a game on its home field was the Hurricanes, who won the Orange Bowl following the 1987 season to win the program’s second of five national championships.

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.





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James Fishback ordered to turn over Azoria stock, luxury items to pay $229K court judgment

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Gubernatorial candidate James Fishback’s legal woes are deepening.

A federal magistrate Judge has ordered Fishback, the founder and CEO of Azoria Capital, to turn over company stock certificates and a slate of luxury purchases to the U.S. Marshals Service by the end of the month as payment on a $229,000 judgment to his former employer, Greenlight Capital.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Fitzpatrick of the Northern District of Florida granted two unopposed motions by Greenlight after Fishback failed to respond by a court-ordered deadline.

It’s the latest escalation in a dispute between Greenlight and Fishback, a former analyst for the hedge fund who has made more headlines recently for his race-baiting rhetoric in the Governor’s race, allegations of grooming, multistate voter registration and public blowup with Gov. Ron DeSantis adviser Christina Pushaw.

Greenlight told the court that Fishback still owes it money under a June 2025 court order. The firm asked the court in late November to compel Fishback to surrender his stock or share certificates in Azoria Capital, Inc., a Delaware corporation Greenlight described as founded by Fishback and controlled by him at “75% or more.”

Because Fishback did not oppose the request, the court granted it and directed him to “locate, obtain, and turn over” all Azoria stock and/or share certificates to the U.S. Marshals Service by Jan. 30.

The Marshals Service, in turn, is ordered to sell the stock for the benefit of Greenlight as the judgment creditor. Fitzpatrick warned Fishback that federal courts have inherent authority to enforce orders and cautioned that ignoring the directive could place him “in danger of being held in contempt of court.”

Fitzpatrick also granted a second motion by Greenlight seeking the turnover of personal property belonging to Fishback. The firm alleged that Fishback claimed he lacked means to pay the $229,000 judgment while making more than $37,000 in debit card purchases over 16 months through a previously undisclosed JPMorgan Chase account.

The court summarized transactions at retailers including eBay, Nordstrom, Burberry, Bucherer and others, but noted it did not know what exactly Fishback purchased. Still, Fitzpatrick described the spending as “extravagant” and found that Fishback, by not responding by the deadline, waived his chance to argue the items were exempt or not personal property.

Under the order, Fishback must turn over 43 items listed in the motion paper, along with a list, to the Marshals Service by Jan. 30. The Marshals must hold the items for 30 days, allowing Greenlight’s lawyers to retrieve and sell them as partial satisfaction of the judgment.

Fishback worked at Greenlight from 2021 to 2023, after which he and the company became embroiled in a very public dispute over how he described his role there. He said he was “head of macro” for Greenlight, while the New York hedge fund insisted no such title ever existed and that the loftiest role Fishback held was as a research analyst.

Greenlight alleged that Fishback misrepresented his position to boost credibility and attract investors for Azoria. Fishback, meanwhile, argued Greenlight’s denial harmed him with potential backers and pointed to internal communications he says support his version of events.

He did, however, admit to sharing confidential Greenlight portfolio information and agreed to pay costs to resolve a separate lawsuit.

Trustees of a white-label exchange-traded fund (ETF) under Tidal Financial Group also voted in October to liquidate two Azoria ETFs — SPXM and TSLV, which together held about $40 million in assets — after Fishback admitted to sharing the information.

Between when he launched his campaign on Nov. 24 and Dec. 31, when fourth-quarter bookkeeping closed, Fishback reported raising less than $19,000 through his campaign account and nothing through an affiliated political committee.

Fishback is seeking the Republican nomination for Governor. The race’s poll-tested front-runner, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, amassed $45 million last quarter.



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Anna Eskamani hits $1M fundraising milestone for Orlando Mayor race

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Rep. Anna Eskamani says she has raised more than $1 million so far as she tries to become the next Orlando Mayor.

The Orlando Democrat says she hit the milestone last week as lawmakers returned to Tallahassee for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session.

Term-limited in the House, Eskamani is running in 2027 to replace Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who is not running for re-election.

“This campaign is powered by everyday Orlandoans who believe our city can be more affordable, more connected, and safer for everyone,” Eskamani said in a statement.

“Raising over one million dollars from thousands of grassroots donors sends a clear message: people are ready for leadership that listens, leads with integrity, solves problems, and puts community first. Together, we’re building a movement that reflects the heart of Orlando and delivers real results for working families.”

Her campaign has given out 900 yard signs and knocked on more than 33,000 doors in the city, according to a press release.

So far, no other established candidates have filed to run against Eskamani, although she has drawn her first competitor on the ballot: Abdelnasser Lutfi.

Lutfi, who filed to run for Mayor in late December, was not immediately available when reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Eskamani and Lutfi are running to replace Dyer, the longest-serving Mayor in Orlando’s history. Dyer was first elected in 2003.

Eskamani also said she is launching a podcast called “Twinning with Anna and Ida” with her twin sister. 

Every episode will unpack economic public policy issues that are critically important to everyone, but aren’t always well understood by the vast majority of people — often because they have been made intentionally opaque by politicians and the corporations who fund them to benefit from the complex system,” a press release said.

“But they will also have some fun along the way, from exposing a ‘grift of the month’ in Florida politics to exploring the punk rock scene in Orlando.”



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