Miami-Dade School Board · District 1

What do they have in common with Katrina Wilson?

A 73-second video. Turn your sound on.

Katrina Wilson was principal of Liberty City Charter School, which Jeb Bush founded and the Miami-Dade School Board closed in 2008. Fernando and Ignacio Zulueta of Academica each gave $1,000 to her campaign on July 15, 2026. The same donors gave to the Republican Party of Florida, Florida Senate Republicans, Trump Victory and Ron DeSantis.

Vote Tuesday, November 3. Miami-Dade County Public Schools, School Board District 1 runoff.

Transcript

Each quote is followed by its source and a link to the source video. “Edited for length” means the video uses part of the recording.

Narrator What do Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Erika Donalds, Byron Donalds, and Jeb Bush have in common with Katrina Wilson?

Donald Trump “One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education.”Donald J. Trump campaign, Agenda47 education video, 2023. Edited for length. Watch the source video

Ron DeSantis “Now they’re not controlled by the school district and I think importantly not controlled by the teacher unions.”Remarks on charter schools, Sept. 25, 2025. Watch the source video

Erika Donalds “But I really want to see free market principles at work in education.”Leadership Institute video “What is School Choice?”, April 27, 2025. Watch the source video

Erika Donalds “I would like to eradicate the teachers’ unions from our schools.”Fox Business interview, posted Oct. 23, 2025. Watch the source video

Byron Donalds “I started a charter school. I started one.”Florida House of Representatives video, “Schools of Hope” charter school bill debate, published June 7, 2017. Watch the source video

Jeb Bush “Together, we built the Liberty City Charter School. And at that time, there were no charters in Florida.”National Urban League conference, Fort Lauderdale, July 31, 2015, C-SPAN. Watch the source video

Katrina Wilson “I opened the first charter school in the state of Florida with Jeb Bush.”QNA podcast interview, posted Oct. 13, 2026. Edited for length. Watch the source video

Narrator Katrina Wilson ran Jeb Bush’s charter school. It closed in 2008, more than a million dollars in debt.

Narrator Now the donors behind Florida’s largest charter school chain are giving to her campaign. The same donors gave nearly two million dollars to the Republican Party of Florida and Senate Republicans. They gave to Trump Victory. They gave to Ron DeSantis.

Narrator Is Katrina Wilson the best choice for our public schools? Vote by November third.

What the record shows

Fernando Zulueta and Ignacio Zulueta of Academica each gave $1,000 to Katrina Wilson’s campaign on July 15, 2026. Katrina Wilson campaign finance report, Miami-Dade County Elections Department; Source [15].
The same donors gave about $1.11 million to the Republican Party of Florida and about $878,000 to the Florida Senate Republicans’ campaign committee. Florida Division of Elections contribution records. Contributions search.
Ignacio Zulueta gave $25,000 to Trump Victory on Nov. 3, 2020. FEC filing. Filing image.
The same donors made contributions to Ron DeSantis dated May 5, 2022. Florida Division of Elections contribution records. Contributions search.
The Miami-Dade School Board closed Liberty City Charter School in 2008 because of its finances. Its debt had grown to $1 million. Miami Herald, Mar. 7, 2015, and Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2015. The record; Source [3]; Source [1].

Questions and answers

Did Katrina Wilson run Jeb Bush’s charter school?

Jeb Bush founded Liberty City Charter School, which opened in 1996. Katrina Wilson became its principal that year, under the name Katrina Wilson-Davis. In a podcast interview posted Oct. 13, 2026, she said she opened the first charter school in the state of Florida with Jeb Bush.

What happened to the Liberty City Charter School?

The Miami-Dade School Board closed the school in 2008 because of its finances. Its debt had grown to $1 million, according to the Washington Post.

Who are the Zulueta brothers and did they give to Katrina Wilson’s campaign?

Fernando Zulueta and his brother Ignacio built a group of charter networks that contract with Academica, WLRN reported. Fernando Zulueta listed his job as CEO of Academica. Each brother gave $1,000 to her campaign on July 15, 2026, according to her campaign finance report.

Which Republican causes have the Zuluetas funded?

Per Florida Division of Elections records, the same donors gave about $1.11 million to the Republican Party of Florida and about $878,000 to the Florida Senate Republicans’ campaign committee. Ignacio Zulueta gave $25,000 to Trump Victory on Nov. 3, 2020. The same donors made contributions to Ron DeSantis dated May 5, 2022.

When is the District 1 School Board runoff?

The runoff is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.