Ohio moms claim they were reported to FBI by school for exposing CRT
Ohio students were reportedly denied re-enrollment to a private school after Amy Gonzalez and Andrea Gross launched a campaign against indoctrination.
Two Ohio moms took legal action against their kids' former school after claiming it facilitated a bullying campaign against them, reporting them to the FBI after shedding light on controversial financials and CRT-riddled curriculum.
Amy Gonzalez and Andrea Gross filed suit against Columbus Academy (CA) after the alleged move, while also claiming they were reported to the local police department for their efforts to expose the institution's left-wing ideology.
The pair said the school tried to make staffers "fearful" of them after they raised questions about money spent and controversial class material, although the school denies these claims.
"They filed a police report against us with the local police. They also weaponized the parents association against us. They intimated to the entire, over 1,000 people that Amy and I had committed two felonies, which is false," Gross said during "Fox & Friends" Tuesday.
"There was just so many things that were done that it was beyond the pale of what a reaction would be to the questions we were asking, which again, led us to wonder why this reaction?" she continued. "And I think now … we can see why."
The pair claim their kids were denied re-enrollment to the school back in 2021 when their feud with officials began. They were forced to find another school for their kids, who Gonzalez argued bore the brunt of the academy's alleged targeting.
They said their children were "devastated" they had to change schools.
People hold up signs during a rally against "critical race theory" (CRT) being taught in schools. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
"I think one of the worst things they can do is put shame on children to paint them with dishonor, disgrace, like they did something wrong. They were innocent. They did nothing wrong," Gonzalez said.
"Instead, they treated the children like trash, like they're disposable," she continued.
Fox News obtained copies of the school's letters notifying Gross and Gonzalez, who lead the Pro-CA Coalition, of the decision to deny re-enrollment.
The school, which includes pre-K through 12th-grade students, effectively expelled two of Gross' children and one of Gonzalez's. According to the moms, their coalition includes hundreds of other CA parents who are also concerned about recent changes to school materials.
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The mothers previously argued to Fox News that CA was unjustly punishing their children for their parents' activism.
School officials, however, maintain that the two moms' conduct blocked the type of "positive and constructive working relationship" they agreed to in the enrollment agreement they signed.
The letters show Columbus Academy leaders alleging that moms had "pursued a course of action that has been anything but civil, respectful and faithful to the facts."
Gross said she began questioning the school's money trail after the school could not provide a learning specialist for her daughter, despite "doubling" the Diversity Department.
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"My oldest daughter has a learning disability, and in the year we were looking into things, they had no learning specialist for the children that were 3 to 12 years old, but in that same year, they had doubled our Diversity Department," she said. "We followed the money, and the money really led to a lot of interesting things in their 990's, it's their public filings, the evidence, personal enrichment of the head of the board and the head of our school."
She also noted students were exposed to gender-based curriculum without parental consent, in addition to controversial material about race and alleged anti-conservative sentiment.
Parents and community members attend a Loudoun County School Board meeting about critical race theory in Ashburn, Virginia, on June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
"We felt it was important to speak out and ask the questions," Gonzalez said. "We thought they would want to collaborate with us because we love the school, and we wanted to restore it and make sure that they were about academic excellence, and staying on their mission."
But that was anything but the case, both moms claimed.
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They said the headmaster of the school at the time even got security after alerting the FBI of the "dangerous" moms, who claim they were on a mission to stand up for parental rights in the classroom.
"You cannot weaponize the federal government against parents who are asking questions because they love their kids, and they want to know what's happening in schools," Gross said. "We also want to know what's happening to the money. We raise the money as parents. We are responsible for making sure that the people there are doing what they say they're doing with the money."
A Columbus Academy spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit in a statement to Fox News, denying that the mothers were reported to the FBI by the school.
"These two individuals reached a national media campaign against Columbus Academy two years ago," the statement read. "Their claims have no legal merit. Their talking points are old and stale. Columbus Academy will weather this assault as it did the last one and continue to stand for independence and excellence in the education of young scholars."
Fox News' Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
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