MAITLAND, Fla. — The Florida Department of Education released documents to Channel 9 that shed light on why the state chose to pull scholarships from one Central Florida private school.
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In September, Governor Ron DeSantis announced school choice scholarships at the Park Maitland School’s campuses in Winter Park and Maitland would be suspended over alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party.
The announcement forced the parents of 319 students to pay full tuition without state help, transfer to public school, or transfer to a different private school.
With those scholarships pulled, several parents we spoke to said they felt financial pressure.
According to the school’s website, the average scholarship award was $7,000, but tuition at Park Maitland ranges from $15,000 to $20,000.
Since then, Channel 9 learned just one scholarship student from Park Maitland ultimately withdrew and attempted to enroll at another private school.
Meanwhile, documents released by the state show investigators primarily examined business records before deciding to suspend scholarships to the school.
Read: ‘Stay or transfer’: Park Maitland parents face tough choice after state pulls vouchers
Those records include SEC filings from the investment firm that owns the school: Primavera Holdings.
The SEC filing says the firm’s business strategy is “focused on generating attractive returns from global opportunities which have compelling China potential.”
The same filing says the investment group’s business selection criteria includes “established targets looking to deepen China presence and accelerate growth in China.”
However, the filings say this is not a requirement for all of the businesses acquired by the firm.
One of the almost 100 companies the firm owns is Spring Education Group, Park Maitland’s parent company.
According to their website, they are a network of more than 230 private schools that provide education across the U.S. and internationally.
Despite the link, the documents don’t suggest that the investment firm has any influence in day-to-day operations at this school, nor does it explain why the firm elected to invest in education.
Channel 9 contacted Primavera Holdings, Spring Education Group, and Park Maitland; we have not received any comment.
Channel 9 also contacted the Department of Education for more information on their investigation but did not receive a response.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Park Maitland parents told Channel 9 they feel it’s “business as usual at the school.”
Several were skeptical of any alleged links to China and told us they don’t see it impacting their children’s education either way.
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