Politico Joins in on the Media Taking Aim at Ron DeSantis, Has the Same Problem Hitting the Target – Opinion

As Politico touts a purported contradiction in the governor’s office, the details unravel the claims.

It has almost reached the level of being a rote practice: A new media hit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis comes out, and the initial reaction becomes, “How did they make this story up?…?!” The latest is a piece from Politico, and it follows that same predictable blueprint. It is something of an arcane set of details, but just the fact that alone was whipped up into a “gotcha” report is enough to see how this went off like a bottle rocket in a tropical storm – which is to say, it did not go off at all.

Atterbury and Matt Dixon’s report sound at first curious. According to them, Florida had been paying an outside company to develop Critical Race Theory. This contradicts DeSantis’s very public announcements about his intention to remove all forms of CRT from Florida schools. It does sound curious – also, it does not sound right. What is the point of significant state funding to fund something publically declared as being incompatible with state affairs?

Politico stated that MGT had been awarded contract work in Tallahassee and was now the center of attention. 

Florida has a contract with MGT Consulting, Tallahassee’s former Republican state Rep. Trey Traviesa. The company provides services such as creating “high-profile, racially sensitive studies that address social inequity and lead to recommendations for true social change.”

However, details can be very complicated from here. The truth is that MGT is indeed employed for work. However, the company does not only deliver CRT-related curriculum or materials. This company performs many services for government offices. The hiring process was indirect with respect to the Department of Education. This is where more information was needed in order to resolve this matter, which seemed to be less important to Politico’s writers.

The article is being disputed by a number of figures from the governor’s office. The Florida Department of Education has since explained the agency has “MGT has never been contracted for any aspect of Critical Race Theory.” since DeSantis took office in 2019. Questions centered on some documents Dixon has provided Dixon with a spreadsheet containing contracts for MGT. The governor’s Deputy Press Secretary, Bryan Griffin, looked over the data supplied and sees plenty of issues.

It is false. Florida doesn’t fund CRT.

#1 – This is the list that the reporter emailed and demanded answers about. The list was clearly not annotated. Contracts are managed by agencies and not the governor’s. Without any responses, the story was published. @EducationFL pic.twitter.com/LtVM47kIUQ

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) July 11, 2022

First, this long list was about contracts with a variety of states. Two of the entries that did involve the State of Florida were not related to the DOE, as stated by the department’s director of communications, Alex Lanfranconi. Reporters were informed by him that they did not receive an initial response from the DoC. has categorically deniedThe company has been hired by FDOE for any aspect of the contentious classroom curriculum.

“This is completely false. We’ve never contracted with MGT for anything related to Critical Race Theory, since Governor Ron DeSantis took office. ”

You can see that most of the actions in billing are shown on the spreadsheet. Technical Services – General Information.To clarify the nature of the work contracted, I reached out the DOE. As has been explained, the governor’s office is not charged with the hiring of vendors who work with various agencies, and on the matter of the specific work MGT performed, it has nothing to do with CRT.  

“These payments will be used to bolster staff for IT project management,” Lanfranconi explained to me. He then reiterated his denial. “Since the Governor Ron DeSantis assumed office, MGT has not been paid by the Department of Education for Critical Race Theory work..” Another contract is listed belowThe Department of Management Services office, which is completely unrelated to any school curriculums or CRT.

These details were quickly gathered and Politico continued to tell its story without receiving a detailed assessment from state workers. MGT did not comment on it. The DOE has added comments since publication. However, the article continues to bear the subheading that carries all its implications. Florida contracts with Tallahassee-based MGT Consulting to create studies that address “social inequity.”

This claim is not mentioned anywhere in the text. MGT is the provider of these services. It has a contract to Florida. Politico puts all the dots in place, but never connects them. This report attempts to discredit DeSantis but it is no more than speculation.

A consulting company that promotes and encourages racial inclusion is paid hundreds of thousands by the state. They don’t pay. For Those services. Politico won’t go to the trouble of explaining this vital information.