Pine Crest School: All you need to know about the Fort Lauderdale institute being considered for Barron Trump
Talk about President Donald Trump leaving the White House has been going on since the results of the November 3 elections were declared and Joe Biden emerged winner. At the time, Trump refused to concede alleging ballot fraud but now even the electoral college has officially voted for the Democrat leader Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Since there is very little information about where the first family is headed after they leave the White House come January 20, when report broke of Melania Trump secretly touring the exclusive Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, located about 40 minutes south of the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, internet sleuths flew into a frenzy trying to find out as much information about the school as possible.
Page Six was the first outlet to break the news of the first lady searching southern Florida for a new school for her teenage son, Barron. It was a strong indication that the first family might be deciding to move to Mar-a-Lago, their Palm Beach resort. It is unclear whether FLOTUS has shortlisted the school in question for Barron. A spokesperson for the school refused to confirm Melania's reported visit, telling Boca News Now that “Pine Crest School does not disclose personal family information related to any stage of our Admission process, including the identity of families who inquire, apply, or enroll.”
Here is what we know about the private school:
Star-studded school
If Barron were to attend the school in future, his name would be added to the list of celebrities like pop star Ariana Grande, actor Kelsey Grammer, TV star Bethenny Frankel and NBA player Brandon Knight. The late entrepreneur H Wayne Huizenga, who became the only US businessman to found three Fortune 500 companies, was also once a student of the school. So was Mark Gilbert, who played baseball at Pine Crest and later went onto become a professional ballplayer and investment banker. He was former President Barack Obama’s ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
During an interview with Tampa Bay's WILD 94.1. radio station backstage at an event a few years ago, Grande joked about how she failed to make it into her school's Pine Crest's Cool Cats Choir. "I didn't make it into choir in my high school," Grande told the interviewer. "They didn't let me in. Cool Cats, Pine Crest, Mr. Malone—never forget." Then, she turned to the camera, joking, "Look at me now, Mr. Malone!"
School of values
Pine Crest, which is a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 private school. "We believe in educating a generation of students to be emotionally intelligent, intellectually inspired, and prepared to change the world," reads the school's website. "Pine Crest delivers a student-centered, extraordinary education. As a result, our students are future ready and prepared to take on the world."
The school's 2019-24 Strategic Plan defines "the Pine Crest graduate of the future as a competitive participant in the global economy who thrives in a technology-driven world. Their "eight core future skills" include, "adaptibility, mindfulness, nurturing, confidence, curiocity, collaboration, inspired and problem-solving."
The school was established in 1934 and operates two campuses. It has about 2,600 students across both campuses. The 2020 Jay Mathews Challenge Index ranked Pine Crest as the No. 1 private school in the country and in the top 30 schools in the country. And Newsweek put Pine Crest on its list of top schools for STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.
Requires personal and business tax returns
There might be one major hindrance to the Trumps getting their son admitted to the school. The school requires parents to disclose their personal and business tax returns before enrollment, something that Trump has been reluctant to do throughout his presidency even amid increased pressure from the Democrats. He continued to claim his taxes were under audit as an explanation behind never releasing them after being sworn in as president. There is an ongoing case in federal court in New York over whether Trump’s accounting firm could be ordered to surrender financial information to prosecutors, CNBC reported.
As part of the application process at Pine Crest, guardians are asked to submit a “parent financial statement.” The documentation the school asks for includes W-2 statements, 1040 personal tax returns and business tax returns. It is not mentioned on their website as to how the information is used.
More than $35,000 per year
The Trumps have to cough up more than $35,000 per year for Barron if he were to get enrolled in Pine Crest as that is the 9th grade tuition cost for high school students at the institute. Middle school costs more than $32,000 per year while elementary school students pay $29,530 per year. Kindergarten tuition is $27,600 and pre-kindergarten costs $23,960, according to the school's website.
Daily lunch, textbooks, student accident Insurance, school supplies, class trips, the yearbook and Parents’ Association membership fees are covered under the tuition fees. It doesn’t include other required expenses, such as school uniforms and laptops. The school’s website acknowledges that a “A Pine Crest education will always be a significant financial commitment for a family,” adding, “We do our best to keep tuition low.”