A conservative firebrand candidate for Florida governor has announced his proposal for the now-vacant Spirit Airlines headquarters following the company's demise.
James Fishback told former employees of the infamous budget airline earlier this week that if elected governor, he would direct the legislature to buy the building and turn it into a public vocational high school.
Fishback told the Daily Mail that he envisioned a massive education space for 5,000 students named after the defunct air carrier called the Spirit Aviation and Aerospace High School.
'It has classroom space. It has training space. It has computers that help students model and do flight simulations. It has a cafeteria. It has a gym. It's 180,000sq ft and it's pretty darn centrally located,' he explained.
After a tumultuous three decades, Spirit announced on May 2 that it would cease operations in the middle of the night, leaving passengers scrambling for flights, and thousands of employees laid off.
'We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry for the last 33 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,' the airline added May 2 in the 2.45am statement.
The announcement came after a long financial battle to stay afloat, and Spirit was forced to file for bankruptcy twice before grounding planes indefinitely.
The airline's headquarters in Dania Beach, Florida, is now set to collect dust. A spokesperson for Spirit said the building will be sold through the bankruptcy process.
James Fishback, pictured speaking to Spirit employees outside the airline's headquarters, has pitched that it should be turned into a school
The $250 million headquarters, located in Dania Beach, Florida, opened just two years before the airline ceased operations
Fishback added that he wanted the school to be named after Spirit, to honor the employees who were laid off
'We are grateful that there are multiple parties interested in our state-of-the-art corporate campus. We welcome all inquiries, which will be addressed through the Chapter 11 process,' the spokesperson added.
Barry Janay, a lawyer specializing in trust/estate planning, real estate, employment law, intellectual property, aviation and litigation told the Daily Mail that secured creditors are in control once a business declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Spirit is set to be sold under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and will be sold in bankruptcy court.
Construction on the campus was approved in 2019 and had a $250 million price tag. It was completed in 2024, just a year before Spirit filed for bankruptcy for a second time.
Fishback argued that an aviation school was the perfect solution. The headquarters houses eight full-motion flight simulations, cutting-edge training equipment, classrooms, a cafeteria and a gym.
The gubernatorial candidate added that he would name the school in honor of the employees who lost their jobs.
'I'm asking the state of Florida to do something with this building behind us to remember and to honor the Spirit employees who came from South Florida and make an indelible impact on this community,' Fishback said at a press conference on Monday as he addresses former Spirit workers in front of the headquarters.
'I'm calling on the state legislature to make an appropriation to buy this 180,000sq ft building to make it a public high school serving both Broward, Dade and Palm Beach.'
Fishback's idea went viral online, with many questioning the politician's reasoning and accusing him of 'virtue signaling.'
'This isn’t it … you keep losing me. Spirit was an awful company. You seem to be another virtue signaling politician,' one X comment read.
Fishback said the building is equipped with eight full-motion flight simulations, cutting-edge training equipment, classrooms, a cafeteria and a gym
Fishback proposed that the aviation high school would be funded through Florida's budget surplus in part and sustained by local aviation companies. He's pictured above meeting with former employees outside the headquarters this week
'Biggest grifter in politics. He has no actual direction. Says anything for attention,' another added.
'This is a very bad idea. We can’t even take care of the schools we already have. Bigger schools is definitely the wrong direction. Especially since we know government doesn’t run any institution well,' argued a third.
However Fishback claimed he had received positive feedback since announcing the idea. He told the Daily Mail that a school board member in Collier County approached him at a meeting to praise the proposal.
'She loved the idea of creating a school that would teach people real practical skills, great technical training, not just for jobs that are gonna pay fifty or sixty grand, but a lot of these jobs that would come out of Spirit High School, entry-level would pay a hundred and fifty, a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars,' he added.
When asked how the school would be funded, Fishback said he envisioned a 'public-private partnership.'
'I would source most of the funding not from taxpayers, but I would go to these companies,' he explained.
'My view is 80 percent of the funding would come from the largest aerospace and aviation companies in Florida.
'I'd pick up the phone and call Elon. I'd pick up the phone and call Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin, all these big companies, and say, "Invest in this school because this school is gonna send you great, talented employees in just a matter of years.''
Fishback told the Daily Mail that he planned to advocate for funding through a private-public partnership
Fishback met with former Spirit employees discussing his idea for a school at the old headquarters
Law expert Barry Janay told the Daily Mail that Fishback's plan was feasible
Janay told the Daily Mail that Fishback's plan was legally feasible if a judge approves the purchase.
He said that the state has the power to purchase private property, adding, 'If they can get the the secured creditors to approve, then yeah, something like that absolutely could happen.'
Public buyers can purchase commercial real estate through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, but creditors must monetize quickly, which could create a potential roadblock for the Florida legislature to approve the property.
Fishback said that even if he does not win the gubernatorial race, he would still advocate for the proposal.
He told the Daily Mail that he had the 'ability' to make it happen regardless of whether he's elected in November.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' office and local officials for comment on Fishback's proposal.
Fishback announced his candidacy to succeed DeSantis last November and has since made headlines for his outlandish proposals, including a tax on OnlyFans creators and controversial comments.
After announcing his candidacy, he called his Republican opponent and frontrunner in the race, Congressman Byron Donalds, a 'slave.'
'Byron Donalds is a slave. I'm sorry - he's a slave,' Fishback said at the time. 'He is a slave to his donors. He is a slave to the corporate interests, to the tech bros that want to turn our state into his own words, a financial capital.'
The statement prompted a wave of backlash from those who slammed Fishback for comparing a black man to a 'slave.'
Donalds responded in a statement that he was unfazed by 'racist Twitter trolls who attack him' for being a strong pro-Trump conservative.
All of Spirit's aircrafts were grounded last weekend as the airline finally ceased operations
Popular alt-right streamer and white supremacist, Nick Fuentes, pictured, has been vocal in support of Fishback's campaign
Fishback also appeared on a livestream with controversial streamers Clavicular and Sneako, pictured above
Fishback has also drawn criticism for aligning himself with alt-right figures like white supremacist Nick Fuentes, and controversial online streamers Clavicular and Sneako.
Fuentes wore Fishback's campaign merchandise on his May 1 livestream. During the stream, Fuentes went on a rant about living in a 'non-white country' and used a racial slur to describe the US.
He then joked that he should not have used the slur while 'repping' Fishback's campaign. Fuentes then praised Fishback, adding that his campaign was 'on fire' and he's 'been incredible.'
In response to Fuentes' support, Fishback told the Daily Mail that he supported free speech.
'I've never spoken to him. I've never met him in my life. What I would say is I support the free speech of anyone in this country, regardless of what that speech is,' Fishback said.
'We have to believe in the First Amendment, and I support the free speech of anyone who wants to disagree with that person's free speech.'
Fishback has promoted policies like banning surrogacy, ending H1-B visas for skilled foreign workers and abolishing abortion.