PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - Members of the Broward County Public School Board have voted not to revoke a Plantation school’s charter after it failed to have armed officer at the school.
School Board members voted not to revoke Ben Gamla South Broward’s charter, at around 7:30 p.m., Tuesday.
“I’m very relieved,” Renaldo Holder, a parent, said. “I never at one point felt that my children were in any harm.”
Earlier Tuesday, a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the school, located along West Sunrise Boulevard, after school administrators failed to develop a long-term plan to ensure an armed, trained security guard, officer or deputy would be on campus during school days.
“We have done everything correctly in terms of compliance, and no student was ever unsafe in that building,” said Peter Deutsch, a Ben Gamla Charter School administrator.
Just last week, Broward County Public School Board members voted to revoke Davie’s Championship Academy of Distinction’s charter after they failed to have a safe school officer on campus for the first day of school.
“I think he’s been spooked by all the investigations that have occurred — the Marjory Stoneman Douglas commission last week, which really raked him over the coal,” said Deutsch. “There’s a grand jury investigation he’s a part of because of issues with school security, so I think this is not a problem. There’s plenty of problems out there, but this is not a problem.”
School Board members met at 3:30 p.m. to vote on whether the school will keep their charter or have it removed.
“Ben Gamla South Broward did not have contractual arrangements in place to establish or assign one or more resource officers to its campus,” BCPS Superintendent Robert Runcie said. “There’s probably other armed personnel that they had in this particular case, but it doesn’t meet the requirements of state statute, and we have to abide by what’s state statute. I am not pleased that we are here to have this conversation, but I’m pleased that we had a good outcome for all parties today.”
The emergency meeting was called after it was discovered the school did not have a school guardian or police officer on campus on Monday, which is a violation of state law.
“The system’s messed up,” said Deutsch. “Someone who is a guardian — licensed by Broward County, fingerprinted by Broward County, but they work in the school next to us — can’t work in our building as a backup.”
The state law requiring authorities on campus was enacted after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“My kids feel safe,” Alicia Samms, a parent, said. “I feel they’re safe. The principal, the teachers all there are excellent.”
“I actually feel that the security is overkill, to be very honest,” Aubrey Bridges, a parent, said.
“Despite its one day screams caring, screams safety,” Elizabeth DeLeon Cintron, a parent, said.
Ben Gamla South Broward does have a contract with Plantation Police for officers to respond to the campus, but as of Monday, no officers have signed up to cover the shifts the school needs.
“The school was made aware that we can’t force the officers to sign up for the detail,” Plantation Police Chief Howard Harrison said. “It’s based on officers signing up for it, whether they’ll show up for it or not.”
“We wanted to put a guardian in the building, but unfortunately the school board has procedure that makes it very difficult,” said Deutsch.
“There were guardians available today that we could’ve had in the school, but we have BSO there today,” an attendee said. “We have BSO there tomorrow. We have BSO there Wednesday. The reason that guardians are not there is that it takes several days for you to re-approve a guardian who’s just approved potentially the day before.”
Debra Klein, Chair for Ben Gamla Charter Schools released a statement on Tuesday afternoon:
“Ever since our school opened a decade ago, Ben Gamla South Broward has always made the safety and security of our students a top priority. This year, we contracted with the Plantation Police Department to provide officers on special detail. Plantation PD was unable to provide an officer for some of the dates listed in the contract. We immediately contacted the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), and BSO is on-site today. We also have a contract with a School Security provider who will provide coverage as soon as Broward Schools approves it. As always, the safety of our students, teachers, and staff is our number one priority. We look forward to continuing to providing an unparalleled education in a safe and nurturing environment for our students.”
“I think the security is sufficient enough, and I feel like my daughter is safe coming and going from school,” said one parent.
The district will monitor the school for the next two to three months.
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