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It began when a few parents noticed something strange. Their PTA was being billed tens of thousands of dollars by a California company called Facilitron to use classrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds that taxpayers already paid for through property taxes.

Invoices appeared. Emails followed, warning that enrichment programs could be suspended if balances were not paid. Parents were stunned. Children’s after school activities were suddenly at risk because of a billing dispute between adults.

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Two schools, North Beach Elementary and South Pointe Elementary, were hit the hardest. After parents raised alarms and media coverage exposed serious building concerns, both schools appeared to face new financial pressure that looked more like retribution than routine policy, leaving families and PTAs struggling to keep programs afloat.

District officials say this system creates equity. But what that has come to mean in Miami Dade is that when parents in one neighborhood raise too much money, the district steps in to take a cut. I have been told by parents and PTA members that half of every fundraiser can be rerouted through the central office in the name of fairness. Sometimes the money is sent back, but not before new facility fees and vendor charges are applied through the Facilitron platform.

It is a confusing and wasteful cycle that does not lift underfunded schools or reduce inequity. It simply fuels redistribution through bureaucracy, where money circulates through layers of administration instead of reaching classrooms.

This is not equity. It punishes the parents and teachers who are most active in supporting their schools and rewards an inefficient system that grows larger while classrooms receive less. Families who work hard to raise funds for their own schools should not be penalized for doing what the district itself has failed to do. Calling for fairness and accountability is not protecting the rich or defending privilege. It is demanding transparency and results for every child in every school.

Meanwhile, the same district that allows outside billing has quietly permitted private tutoring programs on campus for years. Teachers have earned substantial income tutoring students privately, often in cash. Everyone looked the other way until parents began speaking up in public. Then came audits, invoices, and new fees.

While this was happening, the district also accepted celebrity donations that were never processed under the same scrutiny. When DJ Khaled donated to Fienberg Fisher K 8 so a local league could use the gym, half reportedly went to the district while the school received only part of the benefit.

This is not accountability. It is a culture of retaliation and control that punishes initiative and rewards silence.

The problem is not Tallahassee. The State of Florida has increased funding for teacher pay, classroom resources, and mental health programs. What undermines those efforts is a local bureaucracy that grows larger every year while classrooms and teachers are left struggling to get basic support.

The hypocrisy is staggering. The same people who accuse the State Legislature of trying to privatize public education are the ones quietly making back door deals with private vendors to charge parents for access to their own schools. It is redistribution through bureaucracy disguised as equity, and taxpayers are the ones footing the bill.

We are not defending affluent schools or their parents. We are calling out what is wrong and demanding that the same accountability and transparency apply to every school across Miami Dade County. Our concern is not who has more, but who keeps taking the most. The problem is a bloated administration that consumes resources meant for students, teachers, and classrooms.

People deserve to know that even as more than ten thousand children have left the district, the schools have remained financially protected by stabilization funding. The loss of students has not meant a loss of money. The funds have been there, yet classrooms continue to struggle while administrative spending grows. That is not sustainable, and it is not acceptable.

The narrative that the State wants to privatize public education is false. What we want are thriving, transparent, and accountable public schools with top paid teachers, happy parents, and successful students. Not facilities for rent, not politically connected boards, and not pay to play programs.

It is un American not to have the best and most thriving public schools in every community. That goal requires good faith partnerships between parents, educators, and government. It requires honesty, collaboration, and leadership that puts students first. Elections have consequences, and it is time to choose leaders who serve the community rather than themselves.

Public property belongs to the public. Always has. Always will.