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In the video, Ellie explained that one of the top reasons her family is leaving Florida is because of the public school system. Unhappy with the quality of education in Florida's public schools, she felt forced to continue sending her children to private schools, which come with a hefty price tag. "We will be saving at minimum $30,000 a year for putting our kids through the Connecticut public school system," she said.
"And before you come at me and you're just like, 'Well, why don't you just put them in public schools in Florida?' I'm someone who grew up in Miami, Florida. I went to public school. They were great when I grew up, but times they are a-changing," she continued.
Ellie said that the accelerated "gifted" program has been completely eliminated in her area, some students aren't taking core classes, like English, due to a shortage of teachers, and AP classes are limited. "There's not a ton of resources, not to mention all like the crazy banned book stuff," she added. "It really is a very conservative area to be putting your kids through the public school system. It's very religious-heavy, and that is just not where we side with."
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"Now, gifted programs are essentially gone in my county," she continued. "When my sister first moved here, and her boys were in the program, due to the budget, they were down to one day a week in the program, pulled out for a few hours (not a full day), then it went down to once every two weeks, and then they just fizzled out the program completely."
"DeSantis has made things really difficult for public schools here, and it's just something we wanna stray away from," she continued in her video.
When BuzzFeed asked what she's looking forward to in Connecticut's schools instead, Ellie pointed to several other factors affecting the public school system in Florida that will be less of an issue in Connecticut, including teachers salaries, budgets, Florida's private school voucher system, which benefits conservative private Christian schools, and restrictions on social-emotional learning.
"Teacher salaries are horrible in Florida, so the turnover rate is really high," Ellie explained, comparing the salaries in Connecticut and Florida. (In the 2022-2023 school year, Connecticut teachers earned an average salary of about $83,400, while Florida teachers earned around $53,098.)
"I'm from a family of educators. My mom is a retired teacher from Miami, and my sister left the St. Johns County public school system because of how awful it is to teach here," she told BuzzFeed.
"The budget for Florida schools is so misappropriated. Programs get cut, any DEI programs, special needs programs, school trips get cut," Ellie continued. She expressed frustration with Florida's private school voucher system, which allows all students to receive state funds for private education; however, she says they tend to benefit conservative, Christian schools.
"In order to take the public funding, you need to abide by Florida's [rules]. So essentially, this only benefits schools that are highly conservative," she said.
She clarified, "I don't mind paying more taxes in Connecticut if it means my kids are getting a fantastic public education filled with field trips, experiments, extracurriculars, gifted programs, and fully stocked libraries."
Additionally, Ellie pointed out that Florida's shift away from diversity teaching and the ongoing book-banning controversy have further influenced her decision to leave. "Teachers aren't allowed to teach social-emotional learning in Florida. They don't want teachers to teach empathy or inclusion... And don't even get me started on the book-banning frenzy here."
In addition to education, Ellie explained in her video that safety concerns are another primary reason she’s leaving Florida. "Florida's gun laws are pretty awful," she said. While she and her family aren't completely anti-gun, Ellie believes gun regulations need to be much stricter. "In Florida, they seem to think the opposite," she remarked.
"That's just not something that I align with, and it makes me scared for even just like my kids to go over to their friend's house because guns are just willy-nilly here...I'm very excited to get away from that culture."
Reflecting on her own experience growing up in Florida, she told BuzzFeed, "It was just a much less dangerous culture. Mass shootings were not a 'normal' occurrence. They weren't doing school shooter drills when I was in school. I mean, we barely did fire drills! Now they have full trainings for both the teachers and the students…"
"One of the trainings shown to elementary school kids had real footage from one of the school shootings. I mean, that's traumatizing for kids. No child should need to go to school with a bulletproof backpack," she continued. "Florida seems to think the solution is that teachers should be allowed to carry weapons in the classroom, and I'm sorry, but what? These humans went to school to become educators, not to fight in combat to protect themselves and others."
For Ellie, the decision to leave Florida first began during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Floridians really showed their true colors, and that's when we really started to get our wheels turning about not wanting to raise a family here anymore."
"Once Florida passed the six-week abortion ban, we were like, 'Yeah, it's no longer safe to be a pregnant person in Florida,'" she continued. "Your doctor should never have to question your care in the moment because they're worried that their license could be at risk. And also, we’re not going to raise our daughters in a state that limits their rights. The political climate plays a huge role in why we’re leaving."
Aside from political reasons, Ellie explained that she and her family are also looking forward to more affordable housing than where they currently reside, four seasons, and its centrality to other East Coast cities, like New York and Boston.
And as for what would need to change to stay in Florida? "A new governor," Ellie laughed. "No, but honestly, at this point, I feel like Florida has gotten so conservative with the book banning, the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, and just the lack of acceptance for diversity that it would take a long time to correct what's been broken."
In the comments, thousands of other people expressed similar sentiments to Ellie. "It's not a bad thing to say it's a political decision!" one person wrote. "I also left FL because of the politics and every year when I visit family, it becomes clearer and clearer that was one of my best life decisions."
Many other parents also chimed in about their moves out of Florida. "We moved from Tampa to north central Connecticut and I cannot tell you how many times I've cried because my autistic son's elementary school has been an absolute dream to work with!!" this person said.
"We moved to FL to CT in June," another wrote. "Yes the taxes stink, but as far as it being more expensive I haven't really seen that. My daughter is THRIVING where in FL she was failing and so fearful."
Others pointed out the education gaps that exist between some states are very real. "I grew up in CT, it wasn't until I went to college that I discovered how superior my education was and how lucky I was to receive that education compared to students from other states," someone said.
And some said they'd also wish they could move to a "blue state" for similar reasons.
Overall, commenters largely supported Ellie's decision, with many offering tips about life in Connecticut. "There's a LOT of Connecticut pride, which is exciting to see. I'm really excited to live in a place that I feel proud to call home," Ellie said.
On a final note, Ellie told BuzzFeed, "It's a scary time to be a parent, and if you're a mom struggling with sending your kids to public school, or a parent of an LGBTQ+ child, or a parent with undocumented loved ones in your life, I hear you, I see you…"
"There are still a lot of good people in this country. It can be really hard to remember that when you live in a really conservative area, so I’m very much looking forward to being around some more like-minded people." Ellie added that she's made a playlist on TikTok all about her 1000-mile move with three kids under 5 for others to follow along, if anyone else is inspired by her move. "If we can do it, so can you!" she said.
What do you think? Are you considering — or already in the process of — moving out of a "red state" because of the political climate? Let us know why or why not in the comments or at this anonymous form.
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