What About The Schools?
The $23.7 Million Answer
After my property tax post reached 900,000 people, thousands asked the same question. Here’s why that defense falls apart.
After my post about property taxes went viral with over 900,000 views, thousands of you asked the same question: “But what about the schools?”
Fair question. Let me show you why that defense falls apart the moment you look at the data.
The Uncomfortable Truth: Follow The Money
If property taxes fund schools, then the richest cities should have the best schools, right?
Let’s test that theory.
Result: Chronically underperforming schools with safety issues
Result: Consistently failing public schools
Result: Multiple schools with zero students proficient in math
Result: Crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms
Meanwhile, states with no state income tax like Tennessee, Texas, and Florida somehow manage to fund schools. Rural areas with low property values often have better-performing schools than wealthy urban districts. And private schools deliver superior results at $15-30k per year compared to public schools spending $20k+ per student.
Here’s Where It Actually Goes: The Embezzlement Epidemic
Let me introduce you to three gentlemen who can answer that question.
Your Own Backyard
Adam Lamar Harrell, 41, of Midlothian – about 20 minutes from my office – was the Associate Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services at the Virginia Department of Health.
During COVID, when Virginia desperately needed functioning emergency services, Harrell was busy.
He created a fake tech company called “Strategic Tech Innovations, LLC.” He concealed his ownership from his employer. He submitted 15 fraudulent invoices between January 2021 and May 2023 for services and technology that were never provided.
What did he buy with your tax dollars? Luxury vehicles. Real estate. Jewelry. Dozens of firearms.
He also evaded $1.88 million in taxes by hiding the income.
He was sentenced on November 20, 2024 to six years in federal prison. This just happened. The U.S. Department of Justice press release is dated three weeks ago.
Your “emergency services funding” bought someone’s gun collection.
The $16 Million Louis Vuitton Heist
Jorge Armando Contreras, 53, was the Senior Director of Fiscal Services at Magnolia School District in Orange County. This district serves Anaheim and Stanton – where 81% of students are classified as low-income.
When the FBI raided his home, here’s what they found:
- Cash stuffed in a mini-fridge
- 57 luxury designer bags (mostly Louis Vuitton) filled with cash
- A home in Yorba Linda
- A 2021 BMW
- Designer clothes and shoes
- Eight bottles of Clase Azul Ultra luxury tequila ($8,000+ per bottle)
Law enforcement seized approximately $7.7 million in personal property traced to the fraud. The rest? Already spent.
He was sentenced in July 2024 to 70 months in federal prison.
While low-income kids went without supplies, Contreras was hoarding Louis Vuitton bags full of cash like some kind of fiscal services dragon.
Stealing Hope During a Pandemic
Michael David Barker, 48, was the Maintenance Director for Boone County Schools.
During the COVID-19 pandemic – when schools received additional government funding to ensure safe learning environments – Barker saw an opportunity.
He conspired with a supplier named Jesse Marks who owned Rush Enterprises. Together, they created a simple but devastating scheme: submit fraudulent invoices for cleaning supplies that were never delivered.
The numbers are staggering:
The Hand Soap Scam
Invoices claimed: 4,993 cases of hand soap
Actually delivered: 829 cases
Money stolen for non-existent soap: $470,000+
In total, $3,448,571.85 was stolen. Barker and Marks split the money roughly equally.
Barker was sentenced on November 10, 2024 to 33 months in federal prison. Marks received five years of probation with 18 months of home detention on November 13, 2024.
The U.S. Attorney said it best: “They stole hope from the children of Boone County.”
The Total Damage
Stolen in just three cases over six months
That’s enough to:
- Pay 474 teachers a $50,000 salary for a full year
- Build 3-4 new schools
- Fund 23,700 students at $1,000 per student
And these are just the ones who got caught.
The System Is Designed For Extraction, Not Education
Here’s what 17 years in the mortgage industry has taught me about how this system really works.
Property taxes create massive honeypots with minimal oversight.
The higher the property values, the bigger the honeypot. The bigger the honeypot, the more corruption opportunities. Major cities equal maximum revenue plus maximum bureaucracy, which equals maximum theft opportunity.
School districts and local government agencies employ thousands of people with access to millions in essentially untracked funds. The complexity of the system isn’t a bug – it’s a feature. The more complicated the funding flows, the easier it is to hide theft.
Think about it:
- Adam Harrell in Virginia routed payments through the Western Virginia EMS Council to avoid the normal vendor approval process
- Jorge Contreras in California had direct control over fiscal operations with minimal oversight
- Michael Barker in West Virginia could unilaterally approve the same fraudulent invoices he drafted himself
The system is set up to enable this.
And here’s the kicker: when embezzlement is discovered, what’s the solution? “We need more funding.” Never “we need accountability.” Never “we need forensic audits.” Never “maybe property taxes aren’t working.”
Always more funding. More taxation. More extraction from homeowners who can’t escape.
This is why expensive cities have terrible schools despite massive property tax revenue:
- Administrative bloat – School districts hire more bureaucrats than teachers
- Corruption opportunities scale with revenue – More money = more theft
- Zero accountability – Performance doesn’t matter when funding is guaranteed
- The money never reaches the classroom – It stops in too many hands along the way
The Question They Don’t Want You To Ask
If property taxes were really about funding schools, why don’t we:
- Pay teachers directly through a transparent blockchain system? Technology exists to eliminate middlemen entirely.
- Give parents vouchers to choose their schools? Let funding follow students, not bureaucracies.
- Fund schools through sales tax or other methods that don’t threaten your home ownership?
- Require annual forensic audits of every school district with criminal penalties for administrators who can’t account for funds?
- Post every transaction publicly in real-time so taxpayers can see exactly where their money goes?
The answer is simple: Because property taxes aren’t about schools.
They’re about extracting maximum revenue from captive homeowners who can’t escape.
You don’t own your home if you can lose it for non-payment of taxes. You’re a permanent renter from the county. Your “rent” goes up every year – regardless of how the schools perform, regardless of inflation, regardless of your ability to pay.
And when you question the system, they hide behind children. “But what about the schools?”
Meanwhile, they’re stealing millions. From the schools. From the children. From you.
Why I’m Telling You This
I’ve spent 17 years helping people get mortgages in Virginia. I hold NMLS #1150493 and work with 1st Call Mortgage.
I’ve watched hundreds of people celebrate homeownership, then watched them get crushed by property tax bills they didn’t properly factor into their long-term planning.
The mortgage industry doesn’t tell you these uncomfortable truths:
- Your property taxes will likely double over a 30-year mortgage. That $2,000/month payment becomes $3,000 – not from your mortgage, but from tax increases alone.
- You’re one job loss away from losing your “paid-off” home. Miss property tax payments and see how fast the county moves to take everything you’ve built.
- The schools your taxes supposedly fund will still be failing. You’ll pay more every year and get nothing for it except the privilege of not being homeless.
- You never stop paying. Mortgages end. Property taxes don’t. You’ll pay until you die, then your heirs will pay, forever.
I got into this business to help people build wealth through homeownership. I still believe in homeownership – but I can’t stay silent about a system that turns homeownership into permanent financial servitude.
The marathon metaphor from my viral post was just the beginning. You’re running a race where they keep moving the finish line. Every year, they add another mile. Every year, they take more.
Property taxes are modern serfdom.
And “but what about the schools” is the lie they use to keep you running.
Join The Rebellion
They took $23.7 million from schools in just six months.
And they’re still asking you “but what about the schools?”
The audacity is breathtaking.
If you’re in Virginia and need mortgage services, work with someone who tells you the truth about what you’re really paying for. I’m at 1st Call Mortgage (NMLS #1150493) and I believe you deserve to understand the full picture before you sign.
If you’re anywhere else in the country, you can still join the fight for property tax reform. Sign up below to join The Rebellion. Virginia residents get mortgage insights and market updates. Everyone gets property tax reform advocacy, embezzlement case documentation, and the truth about where your tax dollars actually go.
Join The RebellionShare this post. The system counts on people not knowing these numbers. They count on you accepting “but what about the schools” without looking at where the money actually goes.
I’m documenting every case I find. I’m building the evidence. And I’m not stopping until people understand what’s really happening.
Sources
All cases documented with official U.S. Department of Justice press releases dated 2024:
- U.S. Department of Justice, Central District of California – Jorge Contreras case (July 2024)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Virginia – Adam Harrell case (November 2024)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of West Virginia – Michael Barker case (November 2024)
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