Records from the Dade County Public School System have confirmed that Free National Movement (FNM) candidate in the North Abaco bye-election Greg Gomez has worked at three different schools in the United States in recent years.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has long contended that Mr. Gomez is not a suitable candidate to run in the October 15 election due to a sketchy past and no reported ties to The Bahamas.

But, on Thursday Principal Secretary at the Carol City Middle School in Carol City, Florida Elizabeth Cabral confirmed that Mr. Gomez was employed as a full time teacher at that school in addition to holding teaching positions at two other Florida middle schools.

Mrs. Cabral confirmed that Mr. Gomez worked at the Carol City Middle School between 2002 and 2004 as a vocational business teacher and as an after school and weekend tutor.

The middle school secretary added that based on the records she has, Mr. Gomez was also employed at the Lawton Chiles Middle School where he also reportedly worked as a full time teacher.

“Yes he did,” she said. “He worked here at the Carol City Middle School within the past four years as a full time teacher.”

In fact, Mrs. Cabral said Mr. Gomez was in the Dade County school system as a teacher since 1999.

“He also did another hourly teacher position here, but I think it was an after school programme or Saturday school,” Mrs. Cabral added.

“From 2003 to 2004 he worked in an hourly teaching position here at Carol City. He was also an emotionally handicapped counselor from 2004 to 2005, that was at the Lawton Chiles Middle School.”

In the lead up to the North Abaco bye-election, the PLP has hit out hard at Mr. Gomez questioning his citizenship, ties to The Bahamas and his work history.

But Mrs. Cabral said Florida records also indicate that Mr. Gomez has been employed at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Miami, Florida.

“I have something from 2005 to 2007, but that one doesn’t give me the location of the school at that time,” she added. “But it does say that he was a teacher during those two years, from 2005 to 2007.”

The FNM on Wednesday released a press statement backing up its claims and saying that Gomez is more than suitable to run and that there are no secrets about his past employment history.
FNM Chairman Darron Cash said party members have evidence verifying that the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Education Certification issued Mr. Gomez with a certificate attesting to his qualification as a teacher of Business Education for grades six through 12.
“The FNM leadership has also had sight of pay slips evidencing Mr. Gomez’s employment at three different Middle Schools in South Florida over a four year period – as a substitute teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Miami, and a full time teacher at Carol City Middle School in Carol City, Florida and at the Lawton Chiles Middle School,” Mr. Cash said.