It’s widely expected that after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and their son Barron, 14, will relocate to his beloved resort, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. According to an unnamed source, Melania is already investigating Pine Crest School [1] in Fort Lauderdale, according to The Sun-Sentinel [2] and The New York Post’s gossipy Page Six. [3]
A school spokeswoman declined to comment, noting in an email “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.”
The First Lady’s office also declined to respond.
Trump and the Trump Organization are currently under investigation [4] in New York for alleged tax evasion, [5] involving millions of dollars in consulting fees, so of course, he’s not in favor of returning to New York and has declared [6] himself a permanent Florida resident. He’s also used Mar-a-Lago as his voting address during the March presidential primary and the November general election.
Pine Crest is decidedly not cheap. High school tuition costs $35,500 yearly, while lower grades are less costly, at $23,960 for kindergarten. That doesn’t include other required expenses, like school uniforms and laptops. The school’s website adds “A Pine Crest education will always be a significant financial commitment for a family,” and notes “We do our best to keep tuition low.” Cough cough.
The website also describes the school as “a community of solutionaires” that “approach challenges with curiosity, creativity, and confidence.” Seems like they certainly have more than enough money to do that. Children graduating from this school often wind up in the country’s most prestigious universities.
Some of the school’s graduates are notable, including actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for his character Frazier Crane on the sitcom Cheers. Reality TV celebrity Bethenny Frankel and NBA player Brandon Knight are also former students.
As you might expect, the Twitterati have opinions.
💯. One of the illegal uses of Trump’s foundation was when he tried to make a “donation” to Barron’s NYC school in lieu of paying tuition.
— Elle Bee Are (@elle_bee_are) December 14, 2020 [7]
https://twitter.com/jeffbar47499515/status/1338552175807631361
https://twitter.com/cindys33316/status/1338552077220532228
Since when did he ever care about seeing his sons?
— Stuart Kerpara (@stuckerp3) December 14, 2020 [8]
Perhaps this Twitter user put it best:
Honestly…who cares.
— Yo (@yobender24) December 14, 2020 [9]