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FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — A Florida elementary school is facing a state investigation after it took elementary school students on a field trip to a gay bar.

“I was SO honored to be invited to chaperone Wilton Manors Elementary’s field trip to the incredible Rosie’s!” Broward County School Board member Sarah Leonardi wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday. “The students and I had a fun walk over and learned a lot about our community! A huge thank you to Rosie’s Bar and Grill for hosting this special field trip every year!”

It is not clear what grade the students are.

Rosie’s Bar and Grill is a gay bar and grill that says it wants to see customers “whether you are LBGTQ+ or an ally.” Leonardi did not respond to an email nor a voicemail left on her publicly available cell phone number on Thursday.

LifeSiteNews asked what the educational benefit of the trip was, if and how much taxpayer money had been spent on the field trip, and if any parents raised objections to the trip.

“It’s inappropriate to take children to a bar — any type of bar — on a school field trip, when there are numerous educational and age-appropriate options,” Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, told LifeSiteNews on Thursday. “The Florida Department of Education is aware of this incident and has opened an investigation.”

She said it’s the latest example of political activism by school board members who have been illegally requiring students to wear masks.

“This appears to be the latest example of political activism from a Broward County School Board member. For more than two months, the Broward school board has been violating Florida law by taking away parents’ rights to choose whether their own children wear masks to school or not,” Pushaw said.

“Looking at the big picture, school board politicians in Broward County show a clear pattern of prioritizing their partisan political agenda over the best interests of students. This is unfair to the kids they are entrusted to educate,” DeSantis’s press secretary told LifeSiteNews.

LifeSiteNews emailed Wilton Manors’ Principal Melissa Holtz and Assistant Principal David Martin on Thursday afternoon but has yet to receive a response.

The school had answered a phone call on Thursday and said it would transfer the call to Principal Melissa Holtz, but it transferred to the Broward County school board central office instead. A second phone call to the school minutes later was answered and then dropped without any comments.

Menu items at the restaurant where elementary kids were taken include “Sweaty Lovin,” “Naked Sweaty Lovin,” and a burger called the “Ivana Hooker.” Other food and drink options have clear references to male genitalia.

Comments on Leonardi’s Facebook page were overwhelmingly negative.

“Looks like a fun day of grooming was had by all!” one person sarcastically wrote.

“Welp … have fun with that next school board meeting,” another person wrote.

Contact information for respectful feedback

Sarah Leonardi
[email protected]

All Broward County School Board member emails and phone numbers: https://www.browardschools.com/Domain/12453

Wilton Manor Elementary School: 754 322 8950