BREAKING: John’s Island Wealthy Including Learning Alliance Board Members Contribute to a PAC for David Dyer Campaign.
PAC raises a huge sum of cash in an effort to regain control of school board. Member of county commission’s Children Services Advisory Committee on PAC donor list too.
David Dyer is throwing stockpiles of cash around in an attempt to win Brian Barefoot’s old school board seat and to keep Dr. Peggy Jones on the dais. His friends in The Learning Alliance (TLA) are too. A Florida Elections Commission filing revealed that major donors to TLA, some of them board members, are funding the Education First in IRC political action Committee (PAC). So far, the PAC has raised $44,850 of $54,850 in a month.
According to the report, TLA board member and Moonshot Society member, Susan Hunter, donated $5000 along with another board member, Dorothy Sprague Whitmarsh. Moonshot Society members are those donors that are recognized by TLA for cumulative giving of over $1,000,000. Donald DeMuth, the spouse of board member, Vicki DeMuth, also gave $5000.
The individual $5,000 contributions by the board members and spouse match the highest contribution of former Vice Chairman of TLA and candidate for school board, David Dyer. In all, 7 people gave a matching donation set by Mr. Dyer’s $5000 contribution dated January 26, 2024. This date was prior to his announcement of entering the race on February 14th published in 32963 / Vero News suggesting a coordination with PAC chairman, David E. Rhamba.
Mr. Rhamba was chairman of the Excellence in Indian River Education, PC formed in 2022 to support the LaDonna Corbin and Teri Barenborg campaigns. In the 2020 campaign cycle, when Mr. Dyer’s campaign manager, Jeffrey Andros, managed Brian Barefoot’s school board campaign, a similar PAC was formed named Excellence in Indian River Education in partnership with Mr. Rhamba. Mr. Andros gave it $300.
In 2022, the PAC partnership was renewed. Mr. Dyer’s wife, Harriett, was the largest single contributor to the Excellence in Indian River Education PC. Mrs. Dyer made the largest contribution to the PAC, a one time donation of $7000.00. The PAC raised $22,250.00 in one month, June of 2022, and proceeded to launch a $14,000 flier mailing campaign in an attempt to defeat conservative candidates in the August primary.
Of the donors to Education First in IRC, 9 of them are TLA supporters. One donor in particular and former George Soros finance officer, Hope Woodhouse, is a voting member of the county commission’s Children’s Services Advisory Council (CSAC). Ms. Woodhouse has been a member of the committee for nearly 14 years and has voted to funnel over $2,000,000.00 of hardworking taxpayers to TLA. CSAC recommended another $420,000 for fiscal year 2025.
In April before the Board of County Commissioners, she demanded a 10% increase of taxpayer funding for CSAC. As a resident of the exclusive John’s Island community, she suggested that the club’s hardship that forced the wealthy organization into foreign labor hiring practices, could be overcome through CSAC funding. The assumption being that CSAC programs are needed to train kids to be proper wait staff for the club. In a moment of realization, she poignantly offered a rhetorical question “Why does John’s Island have to go to Eastern Europe to hire people every year?”
Mr. Dyer’s campaign manager is also a voting member of CSAC. According to financial reports, Mr. Andros has received $60,000 for campaign management services.
The question remains whether Mr. Dyer, The Learning Alliance board members and their friends can finance enough campaign messaging to manipulate the voters in their quest to get majority control of the school board.