FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida school board chair is speaking out on money matters after the governor called out the district for allegedly mishandling funds.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the Broward County School District is failing so badly that there needs to be a complete overhaul.
But School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi said that just isn’t the case.
“I think the governor was referring to the old Broward schools,” she said. “We are a back-to-back ‘A’ rated school district by the state’s own metrics. We have no D or F schools for the first time ever, we are a high performing school district as designated by the state.”
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn admitted that there has been some oversights, but maintained that they have turned it around, hoping that others will see the improvements.
“Broward County Public Schools is strong. We’re trying to make sure that we use taxpayers dollars appropriately. We have to realign ourselves, not just with our schools but also with our staffing,” said Hepburn. “We’re taking discipline action to ensure financial stability, academic excellence and accountability.”
The superintendent spoke out after DeSantis came to town and called the system a disaster.
“It’s been a disaster, let’s just be honest. It’s been a disaster in many different ways,” said DeSantis. “It has really run more to benefit the entrenched interests, particularly the school unions, rather than the parents and the students.”
DeSantis said he’s floated the idea of a state take over for the school system.
“Is it time for an outside body, the state, somebody to just take over the bureaucracy and get straight?” a reporter asked the governor.
“And so, I think the question would be for our education commissioner. What authorities are there under current law for them to go in and do, or could they do, or would the Legislature need to do things to be able to authorize?” said DeSantis.
School board member Adam Cervera called for the Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency to look into taxpayer dollars that are being spent at the district, and said that the Broward School District is ripe with fraud.
“We are the sixth-largest school district in the United States and we are operating at a $100 million budget deficit. We’re on a hiring freeze. We are unable to bring in teachers to our classrooms that are desperately needed. We are being forced into considering closing schools,” said Cervera.
Hepburn disagreed with those claims.
Enrollment for the district is down 11,000 students in the last year, which has caused financial strain on Broward schools.
The governor’s plan would turn over authority to the Florida Department of Education.
“Maybe thrusting some of these entities into receivership may be the best way going forward. I think you could work things out pretty quickly,” said DeSantis.
The Broward Teachers Union released the following statement on the matter.
“Yesterday, Gov. Ron DeSantis lambasted the Broward School District as a ‘disaster’ ripe for state receivership. Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco offers the following response.
‘The members of the Broward Teachers Union are proud of the work we do with parents to ensure that every child gets the education they deserve and need. The fact of the matter is that Floridians are facing a rising cost of living crisis in the state. Teacher pay in Florida is 50th in the nation once again. There are billions being siphoned from Florida’s public schools, including here in Broward, to a voucher program Florida’s own Auditor General’s office said was ripe for fraud, waste and abuse. Right now, parents, students and community members need leaders to strengthen our public schools, rather than abandon them. Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, a small business owner or a taxpayer, public schools are your schools.'”
The governor’s comments came during a question-and-answer portion with reporters at an event in Davie unrelated to Broward Schools. He appeared to acknowledge there would be a number of steps that would be necessary before any state action is made for the county’s school system.
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