Florida school board member under fire for field trip to known gay bar

Doobie Doo

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Florida school board member under fire for field trip to known gay bar
By
Mark Lungariello
October 28, 2021 8:39pm
Updated
florida-school-bar-trip-640.jpg

Broward County School Board member Sarah Leonardi recieved criticism for taking a kindegarten class on a trip to a "gay bar" in Wilton Manors, Florida.Twitter
FLORIDA[/paste:font]
A Florida school board member sparked a social media freakout after she posted photos of a grade-school class trip to a bar and grill known as an LGBTQ hangout.

Broward County School Board member Sarah Leonardi posted photos on her social media pages Wednesday showing a Wilton Manors Elementary outing to Rosie’s Bar and Grill, setting off a backlash that saw the governor’s press secretary chime in.

“I was SO honored to be invited to chaperone @WiltonManors’s field trip to the incredible Rosie’s!” Leonardi wrote. “The students and I had a fun walk over and learned a lot about our community!”

While some critics lashed out that a “gay bar” or any bar wasn’t an appropriate place for school-sanctioned trips, others jumped to defend Leonardi and said going to Rosie’s was no different than a family dinner at other bar and grill restaurants, like Applebee’s.

Rosie’s has menu items with names like Naked Sweaty Lovin’ and Ivana Hooker, and listed a special sauce called “Smack My Cheeks and Make ‘Em Rosy,” but a menu posted by a community member to Leonardi’s Facebook showed students were only given family-friendly options of chicken fingers, grilled cheese or burgers.

The school board member’s posts were widely circulated on Twitter and Facebook, with many bashing the locale.


Some people on social media claimed that any trip to a bar would be inappropriate for a group of young children.
Twitter
“This is just wrong on so many levels!” one poster wrote. “Then telling the world that you did it!”

Another chimed in, “Not one parent or adult there had a thought that a backdrop of bottles of alcohol for the field trip presentation is inappropriate.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw’s comments followed Broward defying Desantis’ anti-mask mandate order.


Leonardi defended the trip to Rosie’s Bar and Grill.
Facebook
“Broward School Board member takes little kids to a gay bar on a field trip, forcing them to wear masks ‘to keep them safe,’” she wrote.

Some shook off the criticisms.

“Just making sure you’ve never brought children to Applebee’s, TGIF Friday’s, Outback, or chili’s,” one Twitter user wrote. “Because me thinks the issue isn’t that there was a bar at the grille.”

Leonardi defended the trip in comments to The Miami Herald, saying she’s received “bigoted comments and death threats” since making the post.

“These attacks have no place in our society,” Leonardi told the Herald. “The threats have been referred to the appropriate authorities, and I will continue to work hard to engage with my community, spread positivity, and represent my district on the School Board.”

Co-owner John Zieba said it was a great learning experience for kids and noted Rosie’s serves everyone.

“Everything’s just been blown way out of proportion for ridiculous purposes,” he said, according to the Herald.

Florida school board member under fire for bar field trip
 
Pull Up the Roots

Pull Up the Roots

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This story is being overblown. Stop reading the NYPost, Daily mail, Fox news.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article255356316.html

What happens when a School Board member takes elementary kids on a field trip to a bar and grill with a gay clientele?

A Twitter storm.

Broward District 3 School Board Member Sarah Leonardi, also a high school teacher, posted pictures on Twitter Wednesday night after chaperoning a Wilton Manors Elementary School field trip lunch to Rosie’s Bar and Grill.

She soon found herself in a social media maelstrom that included the governor’s press secretary.

While Rosie’s Bar and Grill in Wilton Manors serves everyone, of course, its menu can be a little risque. The description on the menu for the ”Left One” chicken breast sandwich, for example, is “’Cause sometimes the left ones are bigger!” Then there are the “Rhoda Cowboy,” “Miley High Club” and the “Young Ranch Hand.”

“I was SO honored to be invited to chaperone @WiltonManorsES’s field trip to the incredible Rosie’s! The students and I had a fun walk over and learned a lot about our community! A huge thank you to @RosiesBnG for hosting this special field trip every year!”

The post was bombarded with negative comments almost immediately, and the angry responses showed no sign of easing Thursday.

“This is just wrong on so many levels! Then telling the world that you did it! It is an indicator of just how much reform is needed in schools and school boards,” a poster named Theresa Hauck wrote.

News of the trip was also reported by several conservative media outlets, including Fox News.


The school district issued a statement Thursday night saying the students did not see the restaurant’s regular menu, but instead were given “a student-friendly paper menu that has three child-friendly choices.”

Leonardi told the Miami Herald that she stands by the decision to participate in the field trip.

“As a School Board member, I am committed to staying engaged with my community. I’m always proud to join classes for field trips and events, especially when our schools are connecting with the vibrant small businesses in my district,” she said

Since making the post, Leonardi said she and her family and friends “have been attacked with bigoted comments and death threats.”

“These attacks have no place in our society,” she said. “The threats have been referred to the appropriate authorities, and I will continue to work hard to engage with my community, spread positivity, and represent my district on the School Board.”

Wilton Manors principal Melissa Holtz did not immediately respond to questions and requests for comment on the field trip.

One of the owners of Rosie’s Bar and Grill in Wilton Manors said he’s confused what all the fuss is about — especially since children from the school have been coming to the restaurant for field trips for about 10 years.

“It’s a great experience for the kids to come in and learn how restaurants operate,” John Zieba said.

He said the educational value is in the children not only learning math skills from the prices on the menu, but also to see what kitchen managers, chefs and servers do for a living.

“Everything’s just been blown way out of proportion for ridiculous purposes,” Zieba said.

Broward Public County Public Schools, in its statement, confirmed Zieba’s description about what the purpose of the field trip.

“They learn about the types of jobs involved in operating a restaurant, how to pay for their meal, and how to leave a tip for the service they receive,” the statement reads. “In addition, as part of the field trip, the Wilton Manors Police Department provides traffic assistance for the students so they can see and learn about the different ways police officers support the community.”
Click to expand...

This is a very good example of fake outrage.
 
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Chrishaune

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That's why you don't send your kids to public school now. If you are, you are throwing them to the wolves.

I don't want to hear anybody coming trying to defend it. These are facts.

I'd have to put the fear of God into somebody.

"You are going to see God today, and we'll let you discuss it with Him"
 
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