Waste Of The Day: Stolen Education Grants

Topline: A North Dakota woman was convicted last month of five counts of theft for stealing $131,000 in state grants meant for after-school programs.

Key facts: Faith Dixon, 47, was one of the top recipients of $2 million that the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction awarded in October 2021 for its Out of School Time program to support children impacted by school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Her nonprofit, Faith4Hope, instead sent the funds to her then-husband’s food stand, her brother’s music and production company and her sister-in-law’s dance studio, according to court documents reviewed by InForum.

Dixon’s lawyers claimed she disbursed the money in “good faith” to help children, despite the conflicts of interest. But assistant attorney general Jeremy Ensrud showed some of the funds were spent on Dixon’s own “day-to-day living expenses.”

Dixon’s ex-husband pleaded guilty to theft last year. He admitted the grants to his food stand were not spent on providing culinary classes to children, as he promised the state.

Dixon’s other family members truly did spend their grants on helping children, Ensrud told InForum.

Last October, Dixon took a plea deal that would have sent her to prison for only 4 to 11 months, but she backed out because she had received “bad legal advice.” Now, she will serve 4 to 10 years.

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Mom Neglects to Mention a Chilling Detail in Glowing Article About Her Trans Child, Who was at the Center of Landmark Supreme Court Case Involving Boys in Girls’ Sports

The mother of a boy at the center of a landmark Supreme Court Decision is being blasted for an article she wrote that neglected to mention a shocking detail about her son.

As The Gateway Pundit reported , the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of West Virginia and Idaho’s laws banning biological males from girls’ sports after two biological male athletes, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Cooley Legal, sued the states to allow them to compete with girls. The ruling is expected to impact up to 27 states with similar laws on the books.

The cases are known as West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox. The West Virginia case garnered the most attention, involving a biological boy track athlete who called himself Becky Pepper-Jackson.

16-year-old Pepper-Jackson had first started racing as a girl at the age of 12 and continued competing as a female until the Court finally ended his scheme for good.

While most sane Americans applauded an end to this blatant cheating, his mom has a completely different take.

In a USA Today post titled “Supreme Court ruling on trans athletes can’t change my daughter,” Becky Pepper-Jackson’s mother, Heather Jackson, slobbered over him as a “winner” despite the court ruling.

She lauded him for becoming “a leader in the fight for our trans kids’ civil rights” and for always smiling.

“The Supreme Court’s decision does not change who Becky is. It cannot take away her connection to the sport, the lessons it has taught her, or the friends she has made, Heather Jackson added.

“All that she’s learned about leadership, working together, challenging herself, managing disappointment, and building confidence is wisdom she will have forever – lessons we both are drawing upon in this moment.”

“Whatever comes next, Becky will be Becky,” she continued. “Her bravery, her joy, and her stubborn insistence on seeing the good in people shine as brightly as ever, and those attributes are a beacon for every other kid out there, and for plenty of adults, too.”

But Heather Jackson neglected to mention a quite disturbing detail about her son throughout the puff piece, one that destroys it.

Per a lawsuit from Adaleia Cross, one of Becky Pepper-Jackson’s teammates, the boy sexually harassed and threatened to r*pe them.

From Reduxx:

The suit alleged that Pepper-Jackson would say “suck my d*ck” to both the complainant and other girls on the team

“During the end of that year, about two to three times per week, B.P.J. would look at me and say ‘suck my d*ck.’ There were usually other girls around who heard this. I heard B.P.J. say the same thing to my other teammates, too,” Cross said.

“B.P.J. made other, more explicit sexual statements that felt threatening to me. At times, B.P.J. told me quietly, ‘I’m gonna stick my d*ck into your pu**y.’ And B.P.J. sometimes added ‘and in your a**,’ as well.

These comments were disturbing and caused me deep distress.”

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Backlash as Texas Approves ‘Unconstitutional’ Mandatory Bible Lessons in Public Schools

As education officials in Texas ban hundreds of books that run afoul of their interpretation of Christian morality, the State Board of Education on Friday approved a required reading list that forces the state’s more than 5 million public school students to read from the Bible.

The Republican-controlled SBOE voted 9-5 with one abstention to approve the list, which includes passages from the Book of Exodus as well as the Shepherd’s Psalm and the myths of Adam and Eve and David and Goliath.

“We’re going to stop watering down American history. We’re going to teach the truth. Our nation was founded as a Christian nation, and Texas is a Christian state,” Republican board member Brandon Hall—who is also a youth pastor at Cavalry Baptist Church in Springtown—said during a Thursday press conference in Austin.

That “truth” omits or marginalizes climate change, US imperialism, women’s history, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery, and racism.

Evelyn Brooks, the only Republican SBOE member to vote against the required reading list, told CNN on Friday that she believes the board’s move is “unconstitutional.”

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FRAUD ALERT: Female New York Clerk Gets Caught Ripping Up and Trashing Ballots To Help Her Favored Candidate “Win” – New Election Ordered

A New York clerk was caught in a blatant attempt to steal a local election last month, prompting the state to order a brand-new one.

As The New York Post reported on Thursday, a Hempstead Union Free School District petition revealed that District Clerk April Keys tore up several ballots and helped smuggle them out of her office, which helped board president Victor Pratt ‘win’ his reelection campaign for the Hempstead Union Free School District on Long Island.

The election took place on May 19.

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa ordered a new race to take place within 60 days, just hours after the petition surfaced.

The district issued the following in a statement to The Post:

The Board appreciates the Commissioner’s expeditious review of this matter, which enables the District to move forward with the revote in accordance with the Commissioner’s ruling.

Per the Post, Keys took the ripped-up ballots and tossed them into the dumpster. She also gave Pratt, a local DJ who goes by DJ Vic-Lover, absentee ballots to dispose of.

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Grammy-winning Democrat boasted about recruiting sex offender bandmate days before they performed together at school concert

Bobby Pulido, a Democrat and Grammy-award-winning musician performed at a middle school alongside a convicted sex offender bandmate.

Pulido’s close relationship with embattled accordionist Frankie Caballero is under increased scrutiny as his race for Congress heats up.

He is running against Texas Republican Monica De La Cruz in a crucial neck-and-neck race for control of the House of Representatives. Democrats only need to flip four seats to seize the majority.

The Democrat’s appearances with Caballero occurred both before and after he served a four-year sentence for indecent sexual contact with an eight-year-old girl from 2014-2017, the New York Post first reported.

In May 2018, one year after Caballero was released from prison and placed on Texas’ Public Sex Offender Website, Pulido boasted of recruiting Caballero to his band.

Days later, the Tejano singer played with Caballero at a benefit concert for a Texas middle school. Children were present at the concert held at the Richard R Flores Stadium, according to a report from Axios. 

The Daily Mail had previously reported on Pulido’s partnership with Caballero, but the middle school show was unknown until this week.

Caballero reportedly played with Pulido as long ago as the 1990s, when the accordionist faced other charges for sexual assault that were eventually dismissed.

He continued to be featured in Pulido’s shows from time to time until 2021.

His campaign manager, Abel Prado, previously told the Daily Mail in a statement: ‘Bobby extends his deepest sympathies and support to all of the victims involved.

‘Bobby was never made aware of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with that kind of history.’

But Pulido’s campaign has indicated that the singer was aware of some of his accordionist’s problems, acknowledging a struggle with ‘addiction.’

‘When Jimmy Montez management learned of Caballero’s criminal history in 2021 he was immediately fired and that relationship was severed.’ 

The Pulido campaign did not respond to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment about the school concert gig.

A spokesperson told Axios that Republicans planted the ‘nothing story’ and that Pulido is a ‘public figure who has been an open book for over 30 years.’

Comments from a 2019 podcast interview indicate that Pulido knew about his fellow musician’s brushes with the law. 

‘He can do anything with the accordion,’ Pulido said. ‘But get this, they locked him up. I remember when I started out, I went to get him out of jail.’

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LEAKED AUDIO: Gunderson Middle School Principal Reacts to O’Keefe Undercover Video Exposing Teacher Pushing LGBTQ on 11-Year-Old Children

The O’Keefe Media Group caught a Las Vegas middle school teacher breaking policies and pushing LGBTQ+ propaganda onto 11-year-old children.

Christopher Segal, an English teacher at Gunderson Middle School was caught on hidden camera admitting he coaches minors on coming out as queer.

The teacher, who goes by “Mx” also admitted to condemning black “MAGA” kids and lashed out at parents for not being supportive of their queer kids.

“I’ve had kids ask me, like, coach them on coming out [as Queer],” Christopher Segal told the undercover OMG journalist.

Segal admitted to breaking the law by calling the kids by their preferred pronouns.

“I break the law [CCSD Policies] and still call kids what they want me to call them,” he said.

“They [Kids] come out [as Queer], and I’m like, “awesome.” They know I’m queer,” Segal said.

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Chicago Teachers Seek Billions In Special Session For “What We Are Owed”

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has long been one of the most radical labor organizations in the country from its insistence on teachers being subsidized in political protests to members praising the former Communist regime in Venezuela. Now, with the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the CTU is demanding yet another massive public infusion of money despite the dismal performance of its members in actually improving scores for Chicago children. They are calling for a special session and billions in more funding.

We have previously discussed how teacher unions have become virtual slush funds for Democratic Party operations, spending over a billion dollars on Democratic candidates and campaigns. In return, Democratic politicians have agreed to bloated pension and compensation packages that have driven cities and states into the red, particularly in Illinois.

It is a closed loop of influence and excess. The teacher unions funded Democratic campaigns and Democratic politicians then sign off on windfall union contracts without forcing any improvements for the actual students.

For these students, the system borders on the criminal. Rather than actually improve their educational results, the Chicago teachers (like unions and administrators in other cities) have lowered their proficiency standards. Even with that lowering, just 2 out of 5 children meet the lower proficiency standards. Forty percent of Chicago students are “chronically absent” from class.

According to the latest Illinois Report Card, 38% of the state’s public school students demonstrated proficiency in math last year. 52% showed ELA proficiency.

Nevertheless, teachers demanded the right to join May Day protests during work hours to speak against immigration enforcement, billionaires, and oligarchs. They called on citizens to boycott stores to oppose the super-wealthy and billionaires.

They are now demanding a special session to fund what “we are owed.”

Chicago Board of Education member Jitu Brown demanded “The $2 billion that we are owed just adequately funds, but when you are repairing harm you have to fund above and beyond.” Brown called on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was previously a Chicago teacher and is generally viewed as owing his election to the unions, to repeat his December 2025 $1 billion tax-increment-financing push for the Chicago Public Schools.

As always, the CTU and IFT President Stacy Davis Gates framed the demand in class-warfare terms, calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to convene a special legislative session to raise revenue from the “ultra-wealthy.”

Of course, Pritzker did not respond by raising concerns about the dismal educational record for students, but by promising more money. While he acknowledged that they have increased spending every year, with the budget hitting $3 billion, he said the unions are right that they need even more money.

Notably, both the IFT and CTU are demanding that Pritzker reject a federal tax credit scholarship program that would provide tax credits for donations to scholarship organizations that fund education-related expenses for students in public, private, and homeschool settings.

The unions oppose any voucher system that would give poor families a real choice in seeking better education for their children. Both AFT president Randi Weingarten and NEA president Rebecca S. Pringle opposed voucher options.

Some of us have changed our views of vouchers in light of the stranglehold these unions have on public education.

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Feds Investigate Maryland State Department Of Education Plus Frederick, Montgomery And Prince George’s County

Today, on the fifty-fourth anniversary of the signing of Title IX, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened new investigations into the Maryland State Department of Education, Montgomery County Public Schools, Prince George’s County Public Schools, and Frederick County Public Schools (the Districts) in Maryland. OCR will determine whether the Districts violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) through policies that permit boys to participate on girls’ athletic teams and access girls’ intimate facilities. 

According to the complaint received by OCR, Maryland’s statewide guidance and district-level policies require schools to allow boys to compete in girls’ athletics and to use girls-only locker rooms, restrooms, and overnight accommodations. The complaint further alleges that when girls objected to sharing sex-separated spaces with boys, the Districts placed the burden on those girls to seek alternative facilities, including distant single-user restrooms, rather than enforcing sex-based protections guaranteed under federal law.  

“The practice of allowing students to access sex-separated programs and facilities based solely on self-asserted ‘gender identity’ is deeply troubling and raises significant legal concerns,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. “Fifty-four years after Title IX was signed into law, the Trump Administration remains steadfast to enforce its promise to protect women and girls. We will fully investigate these allegations and take appropriate action to ensure compliance with federal law.”  

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New York Education Commissioner Orders New School Board Election After Investigation Finds Clerk Ripped Up Ballots to Rig Race

New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa has ordered a new school board election in the Hempstead Union Free School District on Long Island after an internal investigation found the district clerk destroyed ballots and smuggled them out of her office to help re-elect incumbent board president Victor Prett.

The original election took place on May 19. State officials overturned the results on Thursday after a petition filed by the district’s attorneys alleged serious irregularities.

According to the state’s review, District Clerk April Keys is accused of tearing up ballots and removing them from her office in an apparent effort to benefit Prett, a former school board president who also works as a local DJ performing under the name DJ Vic-Lover.

The investigation concluded that Keys’ actions compromised the integrity of the vote.

Hempstead school district officials had petitioned the state to annul the original results after uncovering evidence of tampering.

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa accepted the findings and directed that a fresh election be conducted under strict oversight.

The state has appointed Neil Boyd, currently superintendent for the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES, as temporary clerk to manage the revote.

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Venezuelan Illegal Alien Former Illinois School Teacher Arrested by ICE After Driving Tren de Aragua Gangsters to Chicago House Party Massacre That Killed Three and Wounded Five

A 32-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant who was teaching in an Illinois classroom has been arrested by ICE for allegedly acting as the driver and getaway accomplice for two Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang members during a brutal December 2024 mass shooting in Chicago that left three people dead and five others wounded.

Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, a Venezuelan national with dual Italian citizenship, entered the United States in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program but overstayed her visa.

She was taken into ICE custody on May 13, 2026, and is currently being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, pending removal from the country, Fox News reported.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Occhipinti drove two alleged TDA gang members, Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno, to a house party in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood on December 2, 2024.

The gunmen opened fire on the crowd. Three people were killed and five were wounded. Federal authorities say she then helped the shooters flee the scene of the slaughter.

Chicago Police arrested Occhipinti just three days later, on December 5, 2024, after finding multiple weapons in her vehicle. But because Chicago and Illinois are militant sanctuary jurisdictions, she was released without ICE ever being notified, despite the obvious public safety threat tied to a triple homicide.

The two actual shooters were eventually deported. One had even been released from ICE custody earlier by a federal judge due to prosecutorial issues. Occhipinti remained free in the community and was reportedly working as a teacher at a school in the Chicago suburb of Elgin until HSI agents finally tracked her down months later.

Illinois officials have refused to disclose to DHS which school employed her.

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