Congressman Carlos Curbelo has made a big deal of the contributions collected by his first viable challenge since he beat former Congressman Joe Garcia in 2014. But his own money ain’t so clean.
Curbelo has taken at least $5,400 — $2,700 in 2016 and $2,700 again this past June — from billionaire conspiracy theorist Rex Sinquefield, who once said public schools were the product of the KKK 
while he worked to support private school vouchers, champion charter schools, and to bring an end to teacher tenure.
“A long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said: ‘How can we really hurt the African American children permanently? How can we ruin their lives?’ And what they designed was the public school system,” Sinquefield said in a 2012 speech at a university in Missouri, where he is actively working to undermine the public school system.
It became quite a controversy and drew outrage from most if not all public officials and educators. Sinquefield is known as the equivalent of the Koch Brothers in Missouri, personally contributing more than $10 million to state and federal legislators that support his agenda.
Read related: Carlos Curbelo legacy in first term: Nod to cruise industry
Curbelo got money from another foe of public schools: Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos contributed $1,000 to 
Curbelo when he ran for the Miami-Dade School Board.
This begs the question: Does Carlos Curbelo share the same disdain for public schools that they have?
Probably.
In 2014, when he was running against former Garcia in the primary, Curbelo bragged in a debate about cutting 1,000 jobs from our school district. In 2011, as a school board member, he voted on a budget that cut 280 jobs, including guidance counselors and college advisors.
Read related: Attack on Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is Carlos Curbelo being a hypocrite
There is a reason why the United Teachers of Dade have endorsed Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the race for congressional district 26.
“We believe Debbie will make a difference in Congress by fully funding our public schools, supporting educational policies that put our students first and working to improve the lives of working people,” said UTD president Karla Hernandez-Mats.
“Every day, our teachers are working to improve the lives of over 350,000 children in Miami-Dade County. They deserve a representative who will fight for better schools and to ensure every student has a chance to fulfill their potential.”
That ain’t Carlos Curbelo.
Carlos Curbelo is bad for public education; teachers back Debbie added by Ladra on
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