Imagine you’ve attended one school your entire life. As a K-8 program, you’ve grown a love and appreciation for your school and community—a sense of pride. Now imagine the school you hold so near and dear has been accused of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

This was the reality that students of Park Maitland, a private school run in Orlando, faced on Friday, Sept. 22, when Governor Ron DeSantis pulled state-funded scholarships for Park Maitland, among four targeted schools, over suspicion of communist ties. In his press conference, DeSantis stated “The Chinese Communist Party is not welcome in the state of Florida,” supporting his anti-communist campaigns. The governor’s reasoning for these alleged ties lies in the fact that Park Maitland is owned by the Spring Education Group, which is run by Primavera Holdings Limited, an investment firm with operations in Hong Kong and Singapore. As the group owns 220 schools across 19 U.S. states and the school has been in operation since 1968, administrators and families of Park Maitland were shocked and appalled by the governor’s decision—to remove all state-funded scholarships from the school.

While DeSantis claims this decision was made to protect Florida taxpayers and citizens from CCP corruption, the reality of his decision is simple—less families will want to send their students to Park Maitland.

An attempt to amp up his presidential campaign, DeSantis clearly does not care about the ramifications of his decision. Besides taking away state-funded scholarships for students attending the school, his communist accusations have destroyed the prestigious reputation Park Maitland previously held—a reputation that drew families to enroll students. Now with warped perspectives on the school and less available financial aid, it will not be a surprise if Park Maitland sees a sudden drop in enrollment.

In addition to the community impact these allegations have made, the withdrawal of state-funded scholarships leaves those in need with a difficult decision—can they afford to continue sending their child to Park Maitland? With an average monthly tuition of over $1,943, the loss of scholarships and aid for Park Maitland’s students is not to be taken lightly. If DeSantis aims to end threats of the CCP’s influence, how is taking away student scholarships a viable plan of action? Despite administrators releasing a statement that the school has no ties to any foreign or domestic governments, DeSantis’ decision still remains—a decision made with little investigation. 

Just because the school has affiliations with a company based in China does not automatically make them a product of the CCP. Does DeSantis plan to next remove Spotify, AMC or General Motors—all American companies owned by Chinese investors? Will we have to say “zài jian” to Target, KFC and Samsung—all companies that produce and invest in China? The motivation for DeSantis’ rash decision is unclear, but one thing is crystal—students are being harmed.

Students who were previously on scholarships for Park Maitland—or whose families believe these atrocious claims—may now have to leave the campus and friends they have grown to love, but most importantly, the excellent education they deserve to receive. Families should not have to come up with over $1,000 per month for their child to have a good education and political leaders should not instill fear in families over the alignment of an educational institution. In light of Florida Parental Rights Laws and other restrictions on education, such as the banning of critical race theory and limitations on gender expression in the classroom, DeSantis has made Florida a battleground for proper education, and the wealthy are winning. How is it fair that a student must give up their ability to explore important topics and lessons not offered at public schools due to a lower income?

If DeSantis truly believed there were communist ties at Park Maitland, he would not only remove state scholarship—he would try to shut them down. This “plan” to build resistance against the CCP is instead building a new obstacle for families and students to face, especially those who cannot afford private school tuition. Instead of taking away proper funding and financial aid for Florida families, DeSantis needs to rebuild the public school system—a system currently facing new challenges and bills each month. 

Florida now faces a self-made CCP threat—corruption, chaos and privatization.

This story was originally published on Hagerty Journalism Today on October 3, 2023.