Showing posts with label Kathy Bushouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kathy Bushouse. Show all posts

Friday, March 19, 2010

March odds & ends about Broward Schools: audits, personnel cuts and School Board lobbyists who are leaving -or are they?

Last week I asked whether anyone else had seen
Broward School Superintendent James Notter's
appearance on CNN.
http://www.browardschools.com/

Well, it looks like I struck-out and it was beamed
only to my home in a super-secret location near
stately Wayne Manor.

There's no video of the appearance but here's
a transcript of the March 10th appearance.
http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1003/10/cnr.04.html

The Sun-Sentinel's Education Blog now has
a YouTube page that you may find worth
checking out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SSEducationNews
which I joined as a subscriber early this A.M.
becoming, apparently, their first subscriber,
so if you have an interest in things ABC,
you might want to consider joining as well.

As I've previously mentioned thru emails and
here on my blog, I'm somewhat frustrated
and confused by the newspaper's use of
their FLIP camera(s).
http://www.theflip.com/en-us?gclid=CI2M_Zz2xaACFY2F7QodqnYHfA
Not to play TV News Director or newspaper
Editorial Director or anything, but... well, I am.

To me, the cameras seem to be used too much
on covering the doings up on Andrews Avenue,
a few blocks north of the County Govt HQ,
at Fort Lauderdale City Commission meetings
and anything involving mayor Jack Seiler,
since I've never seen the camera in use at any
of the many Broward Ethics Commission,
Broward Legislative Delegation or Planning
Council meetings I've attended (and recorded)
since last September.

Personally, you'd think there'd be more general
interest in those topics than the routine City
of Fort Lauderdale meetings, though at some
of the Ethics meetings, I was the only member
of the Broward public present for more than
an hour or so at a time, so my use of the word
"interest" is used advisedly.

Frankly, why doesn't the Sun-Sentinel send
an intern to those meetings, which they must
deem a Junior Varsity event if a regular
Sun-Sentinel reporter can't cover it.
The interns can set-up the camera on tripod,
play cameraman and take notes so that the
other reporters/columnists can benefit from
seeing what's what at a later time.

Plus, the best parts, such as they are,
can be edited and put uploaded to their own
YouTube page where they can attempt to
grow their online presence.
That's what I'd do if I had anything to do
with it, which I don't, of course.

See video of Notter and Broward School Board
Chair Jennifer Gottlieb -running for re-election-
speaking to the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board;
video was posted on Feb. 23rd.

As of today, the Miami Herald still lacks an
Education blog and what I deem to be their
VERY mediocre politics blog, Naked Politics,
still has no online video component


In fact, they run stories about Lauren Book's possible
candidacy for Broward School Board there since they
have no blog:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/


http://www.youtube.com/user/BrowardPolitics
http://www.youtube.com/user/adamsptimes1

http://www.youtube.com/user/actsofsedition

That ticking you hear is the Herald's future winding-down...
if they don't get relevant and
hyper-local toute-de-suite.


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/fl-school-construction-audit-20100318,0,7378161.story
Overpayments won’t be tolerated, Broward schools construction chief says

By Akilah Johnson, Sun Sentinel
March 18, 2010

After a blistering audit that detailed unauthorized work and overpayments to contractors, the Broward School District's interim construction chief said Thursday he has warned staffers such practices will not be tolerated.

"As long as we have a culture that doesn't hold these people accountable, you will continue to have audits like this one," said Tom Lindener, acting deputy superintendent of facilities and construction.

The 51-page report described a department that ignores or skirts policies, laws and contracts. It claimed overpayments cost taxpayers almost $1 million and that two employees earned $93,000 in overtime in the past two years without documenting when, where or what work they did.

The report went to the district's audit committee Thursday and goes before the School Board on April 20.

Lindener told the audit committee he has already demanded that Pavarini Construction Co. refund the district $290,683 paid for work done without a contract. He said he met with at least two other contractors identified as owing the district money.

And he now requires project managers to use picture IDs at schools to document when they arrive and leave.

His only disagreement with the audit centers on a recommendation to create new policies. The problem isn't that rules aren't there, he said, it's that they're not being followed.

"I will hold people accountable, and, in fact, have already started calling people into my office," Lindener said.

He said he has issued four oral reprimands and two letters of reprimand for mismanagement and personal accountability issues since taking over in January.

He noted that part of the culture change must involve a safety net for employees to do what's right or document that they were following the orders of a superior, including School Board members who "have reached down into middle management, project managers," without fear of retribution.

Superintendent James Notter said he intends to address this issue during the board's May workshop on ethics.

"I see a spirit of cooperation that we haven't seen before," said Henry W. "Hank" Mack, the committee's chairman emeritus. "What makes me feel particularly good is to get a response to an audit that is positive and not designed to make the auditor look like they don't know what they are talking about."

Chief Auditor Patrick Reilly said more construction audits are in the works.

Reader comments at:
http://discussions.sun-sentinel.com/20/soflanews/fl-school-construction-audit-20100318/10





Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/19/1536770/audit-finds-building-funds-misspent.html
Audit finds Broward school building funds misspent
By Patricia Mazzei
March 19, 2010


A scathing internal audit has found that the Broward school district's construction department overpaid hundreds of thousands of dollars to contractors, allowed unauthorized projects to move forward and kept sloppy employee overtime, attendance and mileage records.

Among the most troubling items:

Paying more than $1 million for bleachers for a high school because a contractor was paid twice.

Paying nearly $400,000 for drawings of middle school classroom additions before the projects had been approved.

Paying employees overtime without specifying what extra work was done.

The report expands on problems with Broward's construction practices raised since the September arrest of former School Board member Beverly Gallagher, who pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as consultants for contractors.

But in a striking departure from thorny reports in the past, members of the district's watchdog audit group praised Broward's acting construction chief, on the job since January, for agreeing with the criticism -- in some cases, bringing forth problems himself -- and promising to turn his department around.

"The culture, I think, is changing,'' said Tom Lindner, who was appointed to head construction after the Dec. 31 retirement of department chief Michael Garretson.

He said his goal is to enforce rules already in place and reprimand employees who don't stick to them.

"As long as we have a culture that does not hold those people accountable, you will have audits like this one,'' he said.

Lindner said he has sent letters to the overpaid contractors to try to get money back. He has also met with two contractors to sort out what work they did and did not do.

The report says a project to build 2,500 bleachers at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale cost more than $1 million -- after being budgeted for about $500,000 -- because a subcontractor, Seating Constructors USA, was paid twice.

The district is referring the case to law enforcement to see if "criminal negligence or fraud'' took place.

Three contractors began doing the same work because the district mismanaged the project, the audit says. Seating was paid by both the district and the project's general contractor, Grace & Naeem Uddin, Inc. -- though the building permit was issued to a third firm, Florida Blacktop.

"Internal controls do exist and were ignored,'' Lindner wrote in his response to the audit's findings.

Grace & Naeem Uddin, Inc. has since sued Seating and the district over the project, the audit says.

PROJECT CALLED OFF

In a separate instance, the district overpaid contractor Pavarini Construction $290,683 to design a classroom addition at Westglades Middle in Parkland that has been postponed indefinitely due to budget cuts.

Design work began without School Board approval and the district agreed to pay before the architect had turned in design drawings.

Lindner said the school system's attorney has gotten involved in the case.

The Westglades project was bid in April 2008 and work began in May of that year -- though funding was not set aside for the project until August 2008, and board members did not approve it until April of last year, according to the audit.

District records had previously shown facilities auditor Dave Rhodes refused to sign off on the project in January 2008 because the Parkland area didn't need the extra space.

According to this week's audit, the project moved forward ``based on informal approval'' from Garretson, the former construction chief, and his staff, even after a project manager had questioned whether the new classrooms were needed. Coral Springs Middle, two miles from Westglades, had 359 empty seats at the time, the report says.

With projections showing that Broward will have about 33,000 more seats than students by the 2013-14 school year, the state has ordered the district to stop building new classrooms.

In November, Garretson said he had urged his staff to get projects put to bid quickly knowing a state-imposed halt to construction was coming.

Separately in the audit, the district overpaid a third contractor, James A. Cummings Construction Inc., twice for design work: once $22,225.08 for a classroom addition at Seminole Middle in Plantation and a second time $79,025.08 for three classroom additions at Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Sunrise middles.

Both times the board had not authorized work to begin on the projects. The overpayment happened because the original scope of the additions was reduced.

The audit also found that some employees did not complete daily attendance sheets, padded their mileage for reimbursement, left vacation and leave request forms unsigned and did not get approval for overtime or compensatory time.

In a particularly egregious example, two employees routinely received two hours of overtime a day starting in 2005. In the last two years, that amounted to $93,000 in extra pay for those employees.

Lindner said he put a stop to those overtime payments. Auditors had pointed to overtime problems elsewhere in the district in a June report that found Broward has been paying employees who have two jobs within the school system overtime for their higher-paying primary job -- even if the overtime work was done in the second, lesser-paying position.

REPRIMANDS

Auditors plan to present a second part of their review of the construction department in May. In the meantime, Lindner said he has verbally reprimanded four employees and written letters of reprimand to two others.

"It certainly showed some material weaknesses,'' Superintendent Jim Notter said Thursday. "How does a division pay overtime and not necessarily document the hours that they were working? That's clearly not right.''

Still, members of the audit committee, which is made up of experts not employed by the district, were happy with Lindner's response.

"What makes me feel particularly good is to get a response to an audit that is positive and not designed to make the auditors [seem] like they don't know what they're talking about,'' said Henry Mack, the committee's chairman emeritus.

"And I see a spirit of cooperation . . . that we haven't seen before.''

Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/19/1536770/audit-finds-building-funds-misspent.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1
------

Broward Beat
Another Browardbeat First: Key Lobbyists Drop School Board Registration
By Buddy Nevins

Two of the school system’s leading lobbyists, both connected to disgraced School Board member Bev Gallagher, are no longer registered to work at the school system.

It’s the end of an era.

Not able to represent clients at the School Board because they are not registered are Barbara Miller and Neil Sterling – who once were the go-to lobbyists at the school system.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://www.browardbeat.com/end-of-an-era-key-lobbyists-drop-school-board-registration/

-----

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

South Florida Schools blog
Parents lobby to save Broward elementary school specials
Posted by Kathy Bushouse
March 17, 2010 11:16 AM

Ever since news broke last week that the Broward School District is considering cutting elementary school specials, parents are writing letters, going to meetings and starting Facebook groups in hopes that they'll be able to save art, music, P.E. and media classes.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/03/parents_lobby_to_save_broward_elementary_school_specials.html

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

South Florida Schools blog

Broward Schools Superintendent on facilities audit
Posted by Akilah Johnson
March 17, 2010 04:55 PM

Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter stopped by the Sun Sentinel to talk about an audit that says -- and I’m loosely quoting Hamlet here -- something’s rotten in the state of school construction.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/03/broward_schools_superintendent_5.html

Here's something to consider, which explains
a lot of what passes for logic locally with the
Broward School system. The South Adminstrative
HQ that deals with schools in Hallandale Beach
and Hollywood is 14.6 miles from Hallandale
High School.


View Larger Map


But the distance from Hallandale High School
to the School system's Main Office in downtown
Fort Lauderdale, home of the School Board
600 S.E. Third Avenue, is 10.6 miles.
Yes, the South office is both north and farther
away from the school than the Main Office.


View Larger Map

Monday, January 11, 2010

Monday night's public meeting of Notter's Three Amigos -Bring hand warmers! Where are BECON's TV cameras?

Last Wednesday we got word that...

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1411248.html


Broward ethics panel to take public comments

By Patricia Mazzei
January 6, 2010

The three-person panel tasked with proposing improvements to how the Broward public school district does business will hold its first public hearing next week.

The Commission on Education Excellence Through Integrity, Public Ethics and Transparency will seek public input at 6 p.m. Monday at the Dillard Center for the Arts, 2501 NW 11th St., Fort Lauderdale.

The independent group was convened after the September arrest of suspended School Board member Beverly Gallagher in a federal corruption probe. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to charges that she took $12,500 from undercover FBI agents for a promise to influence a decision on a school construction project.

To serve on the commission, Superintendent Jim Notter chose former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth; Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, a former state legislator; and attorney W. George Allen, who filed the lawsuit that forced the district to desegregate almost 40 years ago.

Reader comments at
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1411248.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1


Then on Friday we heard...

My emphasis in red below


South Florida Sun-Sentinel

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-school-ethics-panel--20100109,0,1614300.story

Ethics panel set for first public hearing on school district

By Kathy Bushouse, Sun Sentinel
January 10, 2010

In the past few months, the Broward school district has been hammered by the arrest of a School Board member, allegations of contractor ripoffs and an investigation of a transportation department besieged by accusations of nepotism and sexual harassment.

On Monday, the panel created in October to scrutinize the district's policies and practices will have its first public hearing to set priorities on what it should investigate.

"We're going out to see what the people want," said attorney W. George Allen.

Allen, former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler are running the Commission on Education Excellence Through Integrity, Public Ethics and Transparency.

They have not set a firm timetable for the investigation.

The panel was created by Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter and School Board member Maureen Dinnen after the Sept. 23 arrest of Beverly Gallagher on corruption charges involving school construction, and shortly after board member Stephanie Kraft disclosed her husband's business ties to School Board lobbyist Neil Sterling.

The Florida Commission on Ethics also is investigating a complaint against Kraft that she misused her position to help Prestige Homes developer Bruce Chait.

Chait was arrested in December and charged by state prosecutors with bribery, unlawful compensation and perjury.

Earlier, in the summer, district auditors alleged two contractors ripped off more than $750,000 after Hurricane Wilma repairs.

The auditors said there were signs of collusion and coercion, as well as inflated and falsified documents so the companies could be paid.

After the panel was formed, the school district began an investigation into its transportation department.

The department's top two administrators — Ruben Parker, director of transportation services, and Lucille Greene, director of student transportation — were reassigned. Officials won't discuss specific reasons for the investigation.

But the Broward Teachers Union asked Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum for independent investigations last month. The union said the transportation department's problems included kickbacks in exchange for jobs, bus safety issues, nepotism and sexual harassment.

The governor forwarded the union's complaint to the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor.

That office is the "best entity to not only review the material but also to intitiate any necessary investigations," said Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey.

McCollum's office said the union's concerns are outside the attorney general's jurisdiction. McCollum's office reccomended the union contact the state's ethics commission, auditor general or the statewide grand jury, according to a letter dated Dec. 17.

Allen said the group spent the past two months getting organized. Now that the group is ready to work, he hopes to move quickly and make recommendations the district will adopt.

"I would hate to do work and then just turn it in as a written report, and nothing happens," Allen said.

Notter said the district would not automatically adopt all of the panel's recommendations but will consider them. He said all the district's operations and policies are open for review.

"They're going to come back with items that we need to revise, revamp, tweak, or frankly, maybe initiate brand-new," Notter said.

Monday's hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Dillard Center for the Arts, 2501 NW 11th St., Fort Lauderdale. For those unable to attend, the commission also is working on a website with an e-mail address and telephone number so people can send in tips.

The panel was promised complete independence from the district. Its leaders won't be paid, but the district will foot the bill for the staff.

Butterworth, Seiler and Allen were picked because of their long histories of community service.

Allen's selection raised some questions because he is registered as a lobbyist representing Bencor Inc., a company that offers alternatives to Social Security for district employees.

Allen said he didn't view it as a conflict because he hasn't lobbied for the company for years.

So far, the panel has met with some skepticism. One teacher sent e-mail to Seiler, saying she was concerned that Notter and Dinnen "handpicked a three-man (no woman) commission for a 90-day fact-finding analysis."

But such panels can be a step toward restoring public confidence in a beleaguered institution, said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

"I think that putting together a group like this is probably a good idea, especially where you've had many instances of alleged corruption or ethical violations," Jewett said. "… I'm not going to say that empanelling a group of citizens to look at this is going to solve all the problems, but it is a good step."

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4556.

How did Broward Schools Supt. James Notter's
Three Amigos NOT already have some means
of broadcasting or webcasting Monday night's
meeting figured-out by 5 p.m. last Friday?
Seriously.
Talk about gross incompetentcy!


(FYI: That's at the SAME time and date as
Broward County's previously-scheduled first
official Census 2010 meeting of social/religious/
community activists, which happens to be at
the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center.
See http://www.broward.org/eventhighlights.htm )

If these Broward School geniuses had any
common sense, they'd grab
some of those
BECON TV cameras that Broward taxpayers
have
ALREADY paid for and truck them
to
Dillard to air Butterworth & Co. LIVE
on Channel 63.
That would be so easy, and yet...

I'd call Ann Murray's School Board office
to find out why this isn't taking place if I
thought I'd get a straight answer out of her,
but...

Maybe if every official person with a Ed.D.
after their name is shivering in that room at
Dillard Monday night, someone downtown
will get off their butt and finally fix the
thermostat that controls school room temps,
so it's not as cold inside as it is outside.

Wow, that should've been the media
lede last week:
clueless Broward Schools HQ!


See Akilah Johnson's blog post on that
from Thursday at bottom.

If you're going to tomorrow night's meeting,
I recommend a visit to Target beforehand,
and get some Coleman-brand hand warmers
-they're excellent.



South Florida Sun-Sentinel Schools blog
Broward classrooms just as cold as outside, teachers say

Posted by Akilah Johnson
January 7, 2010 05:40 PM

Students and teachers in many Broward County public schools didn’t shed their scarves and gloves once this week’s lessons began. Instead, they shivered inside classrooms nearly as cold as the weather outside.

Read rest of this at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/01/broward_classrooms_just_as_col.html#comments

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

WSJ shows James Notter remains part of the accountability problem in Broward County, not part of the solution. Robbing Special-Ed funds from kids!

My comments follow the story.
-----

Wall Street Journal
Special-Ed Funds Redirected

School Districts Shift Millions of Dollars to General Needs After Getting Stimulus Cash

By Anne Marie Chaker
January 6, 2010

Florida's Broward County Public Schools saved as many as 900 jobs this school year. Nevada's Clark County School District just added more math and tutoring programs. And in Connecticut's Bloomfield Public Schools, eight elementary- and middle-school teachers were spared from layoffs.

These cash-strapped districts covered the costs using a boost in funding intended for special education, drawing an outcry from parents and advocates of special-needs children.-----

Read the rest of the story at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html

Reader comments at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126274303415617219.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments

-----
This led to this blog posting:
Sun-Sentinel Schools blog
Wall Street Journal: School districts, including Broward, redirecting special ed money
by Kathy Bushouse
January 6, 2010
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2010/01/wall_street_journal_school_dis.html

-----

Seriously, what does it show about the generally lackluster
quality of the majority
of South Florida's print/electronic
media that they don't even pick-up
on this story from
the third page of the Wall Street Journal 'till nearly
5 p.m.?

Exactly.


At least the Sun-Sentinel's Kathy Bushouse was
paying enough attention
to mention it in their blog,
so what's everyone else's excuse?


And in case it had escaped your notice of late,
in the year 2010,
the Miami Herald STILL lacks
an Education blog.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/blogs/

Guess they were too busy interviewing people about
the weather,
and what was happening to the invasive
iguanas, to see a story
that speaks volumes about the
consistently piss-poor judgment
of people in power
here.
Say hello again to James Notter, another big
reason why large
dynamic companies consciously
choose
NOT to relocate to Broward County.

Yes, the sad, tragic but oh-so logical consequences
of having
someone like him in charge are all around us.

So what do you think Notter is telling parents of
affected kids,
"Take one for the team?"

As a well-informed person wrote me earlier this evening
about this
matter, almost incredulously:
Do you know how many times they’ve told us
they’ve subsidized
special ed from the general fund?
This is really outrageous.


Outrageous sure, but if nobody else knows about
it because the press has falling iguanas on the brain...
Aye, there's the rub.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Slipshod Broward Schools continue to deteriorate, and irritate and obfuscate Broward taxpayers at every opportunity

In the case of the controversial Lincoln Park school in Hollywood,
a.k.a.
Elementary School C, is the stage being set for Jennifer
Gottlieb
and Ann Murray, both running for re-election next year,
to come to the rescue, or for them to be shown as ineffectual,
once again?
I know which side of the equation I'd bet on.

This issue comes before the Hollywood City Commission at 6 p.m.
tonight.
Excerpt from http://www.hollywoodfl.org/docdepotcache/00000/941/R-2009-392.PDF

6:00 PM
24. R-2009-392 -
Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood,
Florida, Approving And Authorizing The Appropriate City Officials To Execute
The Attached Second Amendment To The Lease Agreement Between The
School Board Of Broward County And The City Of Hollywood For The Property
Known As Lincoln Park. Staff: Director Of Parking And Intergovernmental Affairs


QUASI-JUDICIAL ITEMS
(Rules of Procedure Attached to Agenda)
6:00 PM
25. R-2009-393 -
Resolution - A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood,
Florida, Approving An Amendment Of Concurrency Notation On The "Lincoln
Park/Elementary School "C" Plat", Revising The Restrictive Note On The Plat
From A 110,506 Square Foot Public Elementary School And An Existing 3.51
Acre Park To A 110,506 Square Foot Public Pre-Kindergarten To 8th Grade
School And An Existing 4.7 Acre Park, To Reflect The Proposed Uses Thereon.
(P-10-01) Staff: Director Of Public Utilities

Logically, South Florida TV stations should send someone
to cover this story and then head over to Hallandale Beach
for the contentious vote on the Diplomat Country Club,
but I suspect that Hollywood will get the coverage and HB
will once again get zero.

I'll take photos of any reporters I see and recognize -if any.


View Larger Map
----------------


South Florida Sun-Sentinel

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/hollywood/fl-hollywood-schools-20091215,0,118637.story
School Board, Hollywood differ over school
City wants more seats than board approves


By Akilah Johnson, Sun Sentinel

December 15, 2009

Hollywood Commissioner Heidi O'Sheehan warned the School Board on Tuesday that it may have a fight on its hands because it isn't providing the city enough seats in a new Montessori magnet school opening next fall.

At first, Elementary School C, at Lincoln Street and 24th Avenue, was going to be a traditional neighborhood school serving students in the Lincoln Park area. Now the magnet school will educate students in kindergarten through eighth grade; students must apply to attend the school and live south of Interstate 595.

Hollywood is the landlord. The School Board amended its lease with Hollywood on Tuesday, changing the school's grade levels and program model. But the board didn't approve the city's request for more seats.

Hollywood is getting space for 150 children who live there. The capacity of the new school will be about 750 students.

"What we're asking for is a very reasonable — higher — number of choice seats," O'Sheehan told the board. "We're asking for half."

Who attends the school — and how many attend it — are the school's most critical issues, said Steve Welsch, president of the Hollywood Council of Civic Associations.

"Not only is this fair to the residents of Hollywood, it also addresses some of the traffic and safety issues resulting from school bus congestion," Welsch wrote in a letter to the city.

But the school attendance area is an issue better dealt with during the district's annual school boundary review, not from the dais, board members said.

Board member Ann Murray, who represents Hollywood, said the competitive, high-end new school could be a draw for students to attend traditional schools

Hollywood also wants to set 3:30 p.m. as the start time for the city to use the park after school lets out. That request also was rejected, in favor of no definite time.

If the School Board and the city don't resolve their differences soon, O'Sheehan said, the situation could deteriorate to "a contentious battle."

The city is set to amend its part of the lease agreement Wednesday. Welsh asked Hollywood to reject the lease if the board didn't agree with the changes the city wants.

--------------------

Broward Beat
Witch Hunt Against Broward Principal Fails

By Buddy Nevins

Imagine working for 35 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.

Then right before you retire, you are called in front of the school cops. You are told you are being investigated.

You are ordered not to talk about the investigation. The cops refuse to tell you what you are being investigated for.

It was the start of a 22 month-long nightmare for Rebecca Dahl, former principal at Sunrise Middle School, that ended just weeks ago.

North Korea? East Germany? Cuba?

No, this Kafkaesque scene was the work of the Broward County Schools Special Investigative Unit – the school cops.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.browardbeat.com/witch-hunt-against-broward-principal-fails/

-------------

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/12/former_principal_gets_apology.html
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Schools education blog

Former principal gets apology from Broward School Board

by Kathy Bushouse on December 15, 2009

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Voters Remorse: Ann Murray on thin ice in August with constituents after latest Broward School Board debacle

My comments follow the articles.
----------
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1192203.html

Broward schools chief keeps his job through 2014
By Patricia Mazzei
August 19, 2009


The Broward School Board unanimously extended Superintendent Jim Notter's contract by three years Tuesday following an annual evaluation that praised the schools chief.

Notter's contract was extended until June 2014, with a possibility of a further extension until 2015. It does not come with a raise unless other district staff members also get one -- something not in the plans this year.

"We're being responsible and doing what's right,'' School Board member Ann Murray said. "We have confidence in what he's doing.''

Notter, who is paid $299,000 a year, voluntarily cut $26,000 from his compensation last month. He was appointed superintendent in 2007.

Reader comments at:


----------

Going into Tuesday, of the many people in South Florida
-far too many!- whose perennial sub par performance
DIDN'T merit having their contracts renewed -while
they still had time left on them to prove their worth-
the two most obvious were U-M head football coach
Randy Shannon and Broward School Supt. James
Notter.

Both have gotten to their present post thru the insider's
route and both are examples to me of the South Florida
version of the Peter Principle, Banana Republic 2.0.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle


That's the stealth version that's employed when news
reporters, TV cameras and the well-informed public
aren't around to see what's really going on, and asking
their pesky questions.

And now we read that after Ann Murray's been

largely invisible to her constituents for months,
as I wrote about just the other day, she's now
suddenly the one who singing James Notter's
praises after his contract was renewed unanimously?
What am I missing, exactly?

Murray ran on a platform last summer of changing

things dramatically at the Broward School Board,
and not becoming a compliant clone of the existing
members and the pervasive culture of corruption
and cronyism that's made the system a cesspool
and laughingstock.

After emailing this article to a well-informed Broward
friend who WAS a self-admitted 'strong' Murray
supporter, they replied simply, "Invasion of the
Body Snatchers."

Now even Murray's most-fervent supporters are

starting to realize know that her performance on her
audition does NOT bode well for her re-election
prospects next year, as well it shouldn't.

If she'd actually done what she promised, Murray's
name ought to be the one that's on the tip of Broward
taxpayer's and reporter's tongues for zealously defending
the work product of School auditors in revealing possible
School system complicity in over-billing by AshBritt,
but where has she been?
Invisible.

I might've made a mistake in voting for Murray last year,
but trust me, I won't repeat that mistake NEXT YEAR.
And I'm far from alone on that score.

And what about School Board member Jennifer Gottlieb?
What exactly has she done of late to show anyone
paying
attention that her performance is one marked by either
merit or a commitment to zealously guarding the taxpayers
wallet?

Tell me, does her being referred to as "nice" by most
people I interact with at civic events or public gatherings,
somehow translate into her having a guaranteed govt. job
for life, at least in Broward County, regardless of how
poorly she actually performs those oversight and legislative
roles?

I keep wondering if my time in Washington around people
who were well-known and highly-regarded for good reason,
makes me, therefore, somehow unqualified to comprehend
what Jennifer Gottlieb's special ability or talent is, to the
extent that she's able to get elected to public office for no
discernible reason.

I say that because I've yet to see anything on South Florida
TV or read anything in any newspaper or blog, that left me
clearly thinking afterwards that I'd seen some glimpse into
some expertise, skill or insight that could reasonably explain
why Gottlieb got elected in the first place.
That has never happened.

That doesn't make Gottlieb unique in South Florida,
of course, just part of a very, very long list of people
down here who prove the ultimate validity of the
Peter Principle.
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090331_822526.htm

This area has always been noted for having more
unqualified candidates than other parts of the country,
and that's been true for decades.

This is, after all, a part of the country where someone
who genuinely couldn't speak English, ran for Congress
not once but three times in the 1970's and '80's.
And got votes.

Gottlieb's big accomplishment over the past year has
been what, exactly, urging the School Board to cast
a meaningless ceremonial vote last Fall against the
proposed constitutional amendment that would ban
gay marriage?
Like anyone cared what they thought?


I should also mention here that a lot of the well-informed

people I've spoken to and become friendly with since
last November's election, have made a point of telling me,
almost always with a resigned sigh in their voice,
what a big disappointment Jennifer Gottlieb has been
to them.


How they are truly dismayed at the extent to which she
not only carries the water like a drone for the Broward
Teachers Union, the BTU, but also for her starring
role in what happened to Lincoln Park in Hollywood,
after the whole neighborhood made such an inspired
effort to make it more attractive and useful for everyone.

Contrast that with how it looked immediately after the
School system got hold of it and neglected it.

The latter effort is particularly galling to some folks in
Hollywood, even among those who don't live in that
immediate neighborhood, who continually bring it up
in conversations with me about other Broward County
matters -as if I'd forget.

But the truth is, what really rankles these folks to their
core is how the two of them together, Gottlieb and
Murray, have really caused them to doubt their own
ability to judge people, i.e. political candidates.

Some have told me that while they may well have
voted for long-shot candidates in the past, in other
places they've lived, since they (and their families)
moved to South Florida, they've really tried to be
diligent about finding out facts about local candidates'
background and experience, however they could.

Obviously the Internet has been a big help with that
effort, because they now could look for archival
articles and columns online and have more info to
base their decision on, and pass that info along to
friends and family

They stated that because of this effort to be well-informed,
they rarely had voted for someone for whom they
had immediate voters' remorse for.

But the practical experience of Gottlieb and Murray
in office, as opposed to them in campaign mode,
had really disabused these folks of their belief that
once in office, the two would be diligent representatives
of the public who'd be more demanding and more
assertive about the actions and policies of the Broward
Superintendent and his staff.

Instead, they elected two women who just shrug and
vote for whatever the pack wants, consequences be
damned.

To those community activists in particular, who really
pride themselves on not just keeping well-informed
about what's going on hereabouts, but even knowing
what's going to happen BEFORE it does, and why,
the combination of first Gottlieb and now Murray
BOTH being such self-evident wash-outs on reform
and accountability, and not making any tangible
difference for Broward kids and taxpayers, represents
a real big poke in the eye.
And it stings!


Like me, these folks in Hollywood and elsewhere
around the county are recalculating and recalibrating
their political antennae to make sure that those very
mistakes are not repeated in 2010.

It's my belief that Broward County simply can't
afford more wasted votes on people who fail the
basic test of being truthful before and after an election,
and faithful to their constituents' best interests at all times.

Those wasted votes on the Broward School Board
have had very real consequences, because they've
empowered an otherwise clue-less and tone-deaf
person like School Board member Stephanie Kraft
to show voters and taxpayers her true colors.

On June 16th, Kathy Bushouse of the Sun-Sentinel
captured this institutional tone-deafness perfectly in
her Broward Politics blog post,
School District may ask voters to approve higher taxes
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/06/school_district_may_ask_voters.html#comments
which concluded quite ridiculously:

Voters may be more inclined to support a tax increase if they
know what they might lose without it, said board member
Stephanie Kraft.
"Honestly, I've already gotten several e-mails from people saying,
'What about that project? What about that project? " Kraft said.
"A lot of people have indicated that they may not be opposed
to doing something to get those projects built."

That's the very creepy mentality that's gotten the county's
taxpayers into the dire situation that Bob Norman has
been writing about aggressively for months from his
Daily Pulp blog, even as local South Florida TV stations
have largely washed their hands of even trying to explain
the story or identify who the villains and heroes are.

In his blog today,
Derelict School Board Wants More of Your Money
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2009/08/broward_school_board_tax_increas.php
and yesterday's post titled,
Hollywood People Stand Up for School Board Auditors
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2009/08/hollywood_folks_stand_up_for_s.php#comments

Norman has shown just what's been going on during
the recent sleepwalking reign of Jennifer Gottlieb
and more recently, while Ann Murray slept.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Wallets of Broward County taxpayers vs. Broward School Board, Ron Book & AshBritt Inc.; Why you need to get involved

Time for 'Profiles in Courage' and Accountability?

Consider this crazy scenario as you read this
letter below, which was sent by local Hollywood
neighborhood citizen activists to Supt.
James
Notter
and the Broward School Board.


Despite all the things we've been reading and
hearing about for years about how the Broward
School Board's myriad machinations that,
in retrospect, often seemed to have been done
almost as much for the personal or business
benefit of their retinue of consultants, lobbyists
and political contributors,
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/governmentrelations/pdf/list.pdf
as for, you know, the children, we're now

presented with a real 'teachable moment,'
as opposed to the recent beer brouhaha at
the White House.

A moment that may go a long way towards
informing us what the actual future of the
Broward School system and the School Board
is, and whether it will lose what little remaining
public support it has, and whether both will
need to be completely re-engineered, sooner

rather than later.

From my perspective, this seems like precisely
the sort of common sense financial issue
where
the public needs to weigh-in, and publicly
support the work product of the internal auditors.

Based on what I've read and heard in numerous

conversations with folks around the county who
understand this issue far better than I do, the
Broward County School Board, in attempting
to 'nip it in the bud' as Barney Fife would say,
however they can, is, apparently perfectly

willing to undermine their own professional
auditors, if need be, and toss them overboard,
if it greatly displeases Ash-Britt and their
lobbyist, Ron Book, who also lobbies for the
City of Hallandale Beach in Tallahassee.

The Broward School Board doesn't like the
picture the auditors' numbers have painted
,
Not because they're not accurate or don't
add-up, but precisely because they do
.

Because it means they're going to have to
actually do something they're loathe to do:
stand-up and be held accountable for either
doing the right thing -or not.

The reason is because those numbers paint
a map that everyone can easily understand.
It shows how the Broward County School
System and its School Board got to the point
it is today where it is neither trusted,
respected or admired.


And then they (Stephanie Kraft) have the

gall to say that drafts of govt. documents
shouldn't be given to the -Hello!- Audit
Committee, until the dept. under scrutiny
gets the chance to respond.

Question
: If you say that it's unfair to draw
any hypotheses based on just the auditors'
"drafts," then why should School Board
members get anything but the final
complete version also, since the Board
members are just as likely -if not more-
to leak the information they're privvy to?

If anything, they have more incentive!

Below is some information and links that
may help bring you up to speed on the

current issue regarding the audits,
as well as the email addresses of the
Broward County School Board, so you
can let your Board member know that
you DON'T want to see a whitewash.
http://www.browardschools.com/schoolboard/


If they go down that road, there's no
going back.

Be sure to read the reader comments at

the Sun-Sentinel's Schools blog, as they
are full of very useful information that
provides additional context and perspective!

As of today, the "final" audit is scheduled
to go before the Broward School Board on
Tuesday Aug. 18th, but check for updates
every so often until then, in case they try a
surprise maneuver of some sort.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/


From: pete



To: notter@browardschools.com ; maureendinner@browardschools.com ; Jennifer L. Gottlieb ; Ann Murray ; bgallagher@browardschools.com ; robin.bartleman@browardschools.com ; stephanie.kraft@browardschools.com ; jbrooks@browardschools.com ; phyllis.hope@browardschools.com ; marcia.simmons@browardschools.com



Cc: patreilly@browardschools.com



Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 12:48 PM



Subject: Audit's





To the Superintendent, School Board Chairwoman, Vice-Chairwoman, and Members





The North Central Hollywood Civic Association is taking this opportunity to extend our deep appreciation to Pat Reilly, Chief Auditor, his entire staff, and the Audit Committee for their excellent work and commitment to ethical system management. The audits that have come forth have pointed out savings to the district and taxpayers, but have also brought to light practices in this school district that must be changed.





The Auditors nor the Committee attempted to cover up these unpleasant findings, but have focused on system improvement and accountability to the taxpayers. The latest audit clearly reveals the need to recoup almost $800,000, which is sorely needed in this district that has serious and extensive financial shortfalls.





North Central citizens are unhappy with the double whammy high-ranking Officials created for our community. Not only did we lose our 60 year old Lincoln Park for an unnecessary Elementary School, now we have learned that there is no money for the promised renovations at Oakridge Elementary. School Officials LIED to us repeatedly at meetings regarding these two schools and Lincoln Park. We ask you to take swift action on those responsible and restore our community park immediately.





We commend the auditors and the committee members, and urge you to take heed of the findings and ensure that all departments implement what the auditors recommend.





Sincerely,



Ellen Mata, President civicred@aol.com



Pete Brewer, VP pcbrew@bellsouth.net

---------
For more information on the activities of
the North Central Hollywood Civic Association,

see http://www.hccacentral.org/northcentral.htm

and
http://www.hccacentral.org/

Hollywood neighborhood map:
http://www.hccacentral.org/map.htm

To see what problems the above letter
refers to with regard to Lincoln Park,
read these two articles from the past
seven months.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

WORK STARTS ON HOLLYWOOD SCHOOL

By
Sergy Odiduro Staff Writer
April 5, 2009


Ground was recently broken on what will become Hollywood's first new elementary school in almost 40 years.

City officials, School Board representatives and members of the community gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony for Elementary School "C," a $25 million project at 2230 Lincoln St.

"It's going to be a great addition to our school system," said School Board member Jennifer Gottlieb.

The two-story, 111,795- square-foot facility will serve more than 800 students from kindergarten to fifth grade. The site, scheduled to open in 2010, is adjacent to Lincoln Park, which is also undergoing renovations. The school will have shared access to the park through a lease agreement with the city.

"We've been working on this for six years," said Vice Mayor Beam Furr. "It's one of the best redevelopment projects that we could possibly imagine."

The park's makeover is funded by up to $350,000 from the city and about $300,000 from the school district. The city's contribution comes from the bond issue approved by Hollywood voters in 2004.

Improvements include walking trails designed to be educational with a shade garden, botanical garden and butterfly gardens; landscaping; a tot lot with shade structure; softball field; lighting; game tables; benches; basketball courts; playgrounds for kindergarten and elementary-aged students; and bike racks.

Residents will have access to the walking trails and tot lot from sunrise to sunset. The softball field, basketball courts and other playgrounds will open after school and on weekends.

Mayor Peter Bober said the joint project with the school district is a great idea.

"We worked very closely with the School Board on this project," he said. "This is an ambitious project because we unified the city with our school."

Schools Superintendent James Notter agreed.

"When I look out on the dirt piles and cleared land, I can only envision a beautiful new school, fully equipped with the latest technology and hundreds of children starting their road to their training," he said. "It will anchor the community. It will galvanize the community."

Last year, some residents weren't as enthusiastic about the project and voiced concerns over whether the school was needed, citing declining student enrollment in Broward County.

Notter said it will likely be a Montessori school, which he and city officials said would be a draw for residents.

"People ... spend a lot of money sending their children to private Montessori schools," Notter said. "Here you have the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, technology-driven facility with the great likelihood that it will be a Montessori school, and it will all be for free. You can't beat that."

"This project is about the future," Bober said. "We're looking at what the population is going to be like in five to 10 years from now. We are going to get a lot of kids and parents who want to send them here."

Sergy Odiduro can be reached at sodiduro@tribune.com.
-----------
Miami Herald

Building schools comes to a pause

By Patricia Mazzei
February 9, 2009


With families leaving the Broward public schools in droves, school district officials are considering the best way to fill a long-planned school they have committed to building in Hollywood -- including turning it into a much-desired Montessori magnet or a combined elementary and middle school.

The school, to be built adjacent to Lincoln Park, near Johnson Street and Dixie Highway, has been in the works for years but has been delayed as the school and city ironed out kinks in their agreement to share some park land. Neighbors have also raised concerns about how divvying up the space would work.

When the school was planned several years ago, the district had just gone through years of explosive growth. But Broward has lost about 17,000 students since 2004. Miami-Dade has lost thousands more, and both districts have curtailed school construction as a result.

Some schools -- like the one in Hollywood, set for an early March groundbreaking -- are so far along that the question now is how to make them attract students in an era of declining enrollment.

"We have seen the enrollments drop, but that's not to say that in three years we don't get a flush of kids again," said Joel Herbst, area superintendent for the part of the district that includes Hollywood. "The key is that you're ready and prepared for that."

One possibility is to turn the Hollywood school, known as Elementary School C, into Broward's first K-8 center and third Montessori magnet. The middle school would attract more students, and a magnet program would allow kids from outside Hollywood to enroll, though some of the school's approximately 800 seats would be set aside exclusively for the neighboring community.

South Broward parents have been clamoring for another public Montessori school to ease the demand and the commute to Virginia Shuman Young Elementary and Sunrise Middle, both in Fort Lauderdale. Virginia Shuman Young has a waiting list of 700 to 1,000 students, according to the district.

"If whatever formula they have there could apply here, that would be great," said Shari Robbins of east Hollywood, whose 5-year-old daughter is on the waiting list for the Fort Lauderdale school. "It's so creative, and you can tell that the students are thriving and learning."

Despite being designed as an elementary, the new school could be configured into a K-8 down the line, said Mike Garretson, the district's construction chief.

Boundaries for the school have not been drawn yet, nor does the school have a principal.

District officials said they're not worried about filling the school -- no matter what grades or programs it offers -- because the sputtering economy is forcing some charter schools to close and other families to move their kids out of private schools.

"We want to bring these students back into the system," said board vice chairwoman Jennifer Gottlieb, a Virginia Shuman Young parent who has been pushing for the K-8 Montessori idea.

The district pieced together land for the school, which would be Hollywood's first in more than 38 years, by buying about 50 homes around Lincoln Park and leasing half of the school's five acres from the city, with the agreement to share some fields and courts outside school hours. A portion of the park would be open to the public all the time.

Hollywood is putting about $350,000 of taxpayer money into park improvements.

Delays on moving trees and redesigning a water and sewer line, among other things, have pushed back the district's plans to open the school this fall. Construction is expected to take 11 months, with the school opening for the 2010-11 school year.

The slowdown has also increased the project's $34 million price tag, with School Board members agreeing to add almost $760,000 last week.

-------

Now back to the audits:

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/08/some_broward_school_board_memb.html
District auditor criticized for "editorializing"
Posted by Kathy Bushouse on August 4, 2009 05:35 PM
-------
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFERS JOB TRAINING LOBBYIST'S PRESENCE DRAWS SCRUTINY


August 3, 2009

By Scott Travis; Akilah Johnson


If you lost your job and are looking for job training, you have a lot of choices.

In Broward there are three technical education centers that are part of Broward County Public Schools. The schools are Atlantic Technical Center in Coconut Creek, McFatter Technical Center in Davie and Sheridan Technical Center in Hollywood.

A sampling of blogs from the SunSentinel. For more, go to SunSentinel.com/blogs

Carole Friedlander, projects coordinator at Atlantic Technical, said these schools "are fully accredited; have articulation agreements that transfer credits to colleges and community colleges; and offer more than 30 programs that include health/medical careers, business management, information technology, automotive technology, culinary arts, cosmetology, manufacturing, and building & construction trades."

- Scott Travis

Lobbyist's presence draws scrutiny

There was quite a bit to cover during last month's public vetting of a controversial audit claiming the district overpaid more than $765,000 to contractors who repaired portables after Hurricane Wilma.

Lobbyist Ron Book's involvement was one detail presented in the audit. He was present at the initial meet-and-greet between contractors and district officials after Wilma blew through Broward County in 2005.

Audit Committee member Anthony De Meo asked, "Is it normal for a lobbyist to be part of the initial meeting?"

Superintendent James Notter said it's not normal but it's not uncommon either.

- Akilah Johnson

-------
I've never met Herald education beat reporter
Patricia Mazzei in person, so I can't say much
about her one way or the other.

I've sent emails and bcc's to her about various
education and public policy issues over the past
few months, but she's never responded to a
single one, which is her choice, of course.

So, that said, HOW in a story about a Broward
County School Board vote, where four

of the nine members don't even bother
to show-up, and only one Board member
(Maureen Dinnen) is even mentioned
by name in the article, do you NOT
mention the names of the School Board
members who are AWOL in the article?

Why in the year 2009, do Herald reporters
in their stories continue to treat actual

votes by elected officials -and who made
them- as TOP SECRET info?
(That drove me crazy last year with their
coverage of the Broward County Charter
Review Commission.)

Especially since the Herald doesn't bother
to at least put that important voting info

on their website version of the article,
like they ought to.
This is yet another example of the Herald
website being grossly underutilized.


http://www.miamiherald.com/news/education/story/1165121.html
Miami Herald




BROWARD SCHOOLS: Diminished Broward school budget passes first test - A shrunken Broward school district budget moved forward with practically no discussion by sullen School Board members

By Patricia Mazzei
July 31, 2009


With little discussion and much resignation, Broward School Board members signed off Thursday night on the first draft of the district's much diminished budget.

''We are hurting our children,'' Chairwoman Maureen Dinnen said before the 5-0 vote. ''There is no way around it.''

No other board member commented on the budget. Four members were absent.

The tentative $3.58 billion proposal, which takes into account spending for day-to-day operations and big-ticket capital projects, is about $1.5 billion less than last year's $5 billion budget.

It includes very little money for school construction, maintenance and technology -- and no funds for teacher raises.

The district is still negotiating a contract with the Broward Teachers Union for the upcoming school year. The union has asked for a 3-percent raise as of July 1 and a 4-percent increase as of Jan. 1, 2010. The district has proposed no raise and a three-day unpaid furlough.

Only a handful of residents attended Thursday's meeting, and none spoke.

The school district faced a $158 million operating budget shortfall this year, which it blamed on falling property values and a decline in funding from the state -- $130 million over the past two years.

The district trimmed its expenses last year, but it spared Broward schools and employees a bigger hit by using $102 million in one-time reserves to cushion the blow.

Now the district has to close that funding gap without the reserves it put to use last year.

Federal stimulus money has fended off worse cuts, Schools Superintendent Jim Notter has said.

''I feel that the budget that's presented makes effective and efficient use of the very limited resources provided to us from Tallahassee,'' he said Thursday, before asking the public to put pressure on the state to focus on education.

School Board members in Miami-Dade, which faced a $166 million shortfall, gave preliminary approval earlier this week to a $4.8 billion budget that makes some cuts and forgoes teacher raises -- but also includes no layoffs and more rainy-day fund money.

To balance its budget, the Broward district pared the school and central office budgets by 4 percent, saving about $68 million.

Those cuts, along with declining student enrollment, were partly to blame for almost 400 teachers losing their jobs last month -- though the district has since rehired 170 of them.

An additional 19 resigned or declined moves to other positions.

Other cuts include closing an administrative office, eliminating some district-level jobs and scaling back several middle school sports programs.

Taking most of the hit from the budget ax is funding for capital projects, which plummeted from almost $2.6 billion last year to $1.1 billion this year. The district scrapped dozens of school construction, maintenance and technology projects that it can no longer afford.

Last month, Notter and the board rejected an idea to raise taxes to save some of those expensive projects after realizing the extra money would not be enough to back hefty construction loans.

The property tax rate for schools will still go up by a hair, from $7.42 per $1,000 of taxable assessed property value to $7.43. Schools officials attributed the increase to state lawmakers raising the required minimum tax levy for school districts.

Despite the tiny increase in the rate, the district will receive $127 million less in property taxes than it did last year due to falling home values, financial chief Ben Leong said.

School taxes are the biggest portion of a Broward homeowner's tax bill, about 37 percent. Miami-Dade tentatively raised its rate to $8 from $7.80.

The budget will not be finalized until after a second hearing scheduled for Sept. 3.

-------
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/07/broward_school_board_gives_ini.html




Broward School Board gives initial approval to budget, higher tax rate



Posted by Kathy Bushouse on July 30, 2009 06:46 PM

------
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/07/audit_committee_is_lobbyist_in.html




AUDIT COMMITTEE: IS LOBBYIST INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL BOARD DEALS "NORMAL"?

By Akilah Johnson on July 27, 2009 04:30 PM
-------
South Florida Sun-Sentinel




SCHOOL DISTRICT MIGHT USE STAFF ATTORNEY TO REVIEW AUDIT - NOTTER TO CONFER WITH LEGAL DEPARTMENT ON ISSUE

By Kathy Bushouse Staff Writer
July 25, 2009


Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter said Friday that he might tap someone on staff instead of an outside auditor to review a controversial report claiming the district overpaid more than $765,000 to contractors who repaired portable classrooms damaged by Hurricane Wilma.

The district has an attorney who specializes in construction issues, and Notter said that person may be asked to review the case.

Notter said he needs to meet with the district's legal department before deciding whether to use someone in-house or go to an outside group to look at the audit report. But he said having a "third-party eyeball" is prudent before pursuing money from the contractors, as the audit recommends.

On Thursday, Notter told the district's audit committee he planned to use an outside auditor. But on Friday, he could not say how much that would cost the cash-strapped district, which in June laid off nearly 400 teachers. The district has since rehired 133 of them.

Notter said before taking any action, "I need to take [the report] and go through it with a fine-toothed comb with our legal counsel."

It's unusual for the district to bring in a third party to review an audit, said audit committee member Charlotte Greenbarg, who acted as chairwoman for Thursday's meeting. But she doesn't think the district is trying to impede the auditors' findings.

Rather, she said she thinks Notter is "trying to avoid a lawsuit" by having either someone on staff or with an outside firm look at the documents.

The district's audit states that C&B Services of Texas performed unnecessary work and submitted inflated, "falsified" legal bills for repair work on 84 portable classrooms.

It also recommends the district seek a $765,608 refund from another company, AshBritt Inc. of Pompano Beach, that later claimed it, not C&B Services, was the contractor on the job.

Committee members also demanded an investigation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, and state authorities.

AshBritt representatives were not allowed to speak at Thursday's meeting, but after the meeting denied any wrongdoing.

School Board members Maureen Dinnen and Stephanie Kraft, who attended the audit committee meeting, both said they supported having a third party review the audit.

"I look at the outside people not as coming in and changing everything, but as a third party, fresh set of eyes," Dinnen said.

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4556.
-------
Miami Herald



BROWARD SCHOOLS: Broward school district audit finds billing errors - The school district's audit committee agreed there was some sloppy billing from two contractors after Hurricane Wilma, but a few members took issue with suggestions of fraud and collusion

By Patricia Mazzei
July 24, 2009


The showdown over a controversial audit saying the Broward school district overpaid more than $765,000 in classroom repairs after Hurricane Wilma came down to accountants poring over 3-year-old invoices for several hours Thursday.

Their conclusion: There were problems with the way two contractors billed Broward for fixing roofs and drying portable classrooms after the 2005 storm.

But the audit committee, made up of experts who do not work for the district, took issue with the report's tone, saying it went too far in suggesting some overbilling may have been intentional fraud or collusion.

The strong language may have put off facilities and construction staff, keeping them from drafting the best response, suggested one audit committee member.

''The words that were thrown around in this audit maybe prevented us from getting the best result,'' said Ellen Colonnese.

However, she acknowledged the report's bottom line: The district was improperly billed by two contractors.

''A mistake was done,'' she said.

Other members stood behind the entire report, which goes to the School Board next month.

The audit has flared tempers among some board members and district construction and facilities staff for suggesting some of the work done by C & B Services and AshBritt was unnecessary -- and that some bills may have been falsified.

At the heart of the matter is which of the companies was meant to take the lead on the construction work.

District auditors say the district contracted with C & B for $1 million in repairs and ended up paying close to $2.2 million instead. Facilities and construction staff had countered that the district's agreement was with AshBritt -- for closer to $3 million -- and C & B was a subcontractor.

On Thursday, auditors presented documents showing AshBritt did not come into the picture until January 2006, only a few days before C & B finished its repairs.

Permission for AshBritt to proceed was not signed until later, in February 2007.

C & B, which is based in Texas, was not licensed to do work in Florida. The Pompano Beach-based AshBritt then billed and was paid on behalf of C & B, auditors say.

Broward wanted to reopen schools quickly. But it didn't handle finding out about C & B's missing license correctly, said Patrick Reilly, the district's chief auditor.

''Instead of saying, 'They did the work, let's pay them, let's do additional inspections,' '' the district took on AshBritt as the lead contractor -- and that company tacked on bills to pad its profit, he said.

''Luckily a lot of the things that they did, they did very well.''

Broward policies have since changed. Dozens of companies are preapproved to work after a hurricane strikes, with license, insurance and pricing information already on file.

Other issues that came up in the audit: Contractors filed invoices and charts that were not dated or time-stamped, leaving an opening for inflating numbers.

The district was overbilled for food and lodging costs for workers, with some making more than one claim a day or filing for the stipend even if, as local residents, they should not have received it.

And some of the repairs done at the time have still not been inspected, according to the report.

The district will make those inspections, the staff said in its written response to the audit Thursday. ''We are taking it very seriously,'' Superintendent Jim Notter said after the meeting, adding that he will discuss with district attorneys how to go about getting a refund for any overpayments.

An outside accounting firm will review the audit to determine whether state agencies, FEMA or the IRS should conduct further investigations, Notter said.

The audit committee, citing advice from attorneys, declined to hear from Michael Moskowitz, a lawyer for AshBritt.

After the meeting, Moskowitz said the district did not give the company a chance to present documents explaining its invoices and showing C & B as a subcontractor. He also said AshBritt's rates were comparable to those of other companies.

''In a hurricane, tornado, flood -- a natural disaster -- it's very commonplace for work to be done before documentation,'' he said. ''And they acknowledged no problem with the work.''
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South Florida Sun-Sentinel



AUDIT RELEASED TOO SOON, KRAFT SAYS - SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WANT DRAFTS WITHHELD

By Akilah Johnson Staff writer
July 21, 2009


Broward School Board members are finally talking about a controversial audit that says two contractors ripped off the district for more than three-quarters of a million dollars.

But they're not griping about the possibility of wasted taxpayer money. They're mad word got out when it did. Now, board members want to limit the release of district audits.

The audit in question alleges C&B Services of Texas performed unnecessary work and submitted falsified bills for repairing portable classrooms after Hurricane Wilma.

It recommends the district demand a $765,608 refund from AshBritt Inc., which later claimed it, not C&B, was the general contractor.

"The resolution is simple: do not release draft reports to the audit committee or the school board," board member Stephanie Kraft said in a six-page memo to Superintendent James Notter. "Until a report is 'complete,' meaning the audited department has had an opportunity to present its side in the report, the audit (even if marked 'draft') should not be given out to anyone."

Board member Bob Parks co-signed on Kraft's suggestion, saying in an e-mail, "I totally agree with your conclusions and recommendations... Nice work."

Kraft's July 10 memo was part of the Facilities & Construction Management department's official response submitted last Thursday to questions raised in the audit, which it calls "imbalanced and incomplete." In interviews, construction officials called the audit "slanderous."

School Board members received a draft of the audit - making it unequivocally a public record - on July 1, about a week after the district's Audit Committee demanded to see a copy.

Auditors obliged, stamping "draft" on it. It was considered preliminary because the construction department, which was being scrutinized, had not responded to the findings, which call for investigations by FEMA, the IRS and state agencies.

The audit committee is holding a special meeting on Thursday to hash out the facts. The audit will go before the School Board on Aug. 18.

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http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/07/make_draft_audits_offlimits_so_1.html





Make draft audits off-limits, some School Board members say



Posted by Akilah Johnson on July 20, 2009 04:25 PM

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http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/2009/07/lobbyist_ron_book_weighs_in_on.html




Lobbyist Ron Book weighs in on the saga of the hurricane repair audit



Posted by Akilah Johnson on July 16, 2009 12:15 PM

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel




BROWARD SCHOOLS: Construction officials: Repairs audit wrong - Contractors making repairs after Hurricane Wilma did not overcharge the school district, officials said

By Akilah Johnson Staff Writer
July 10, 2009

Auditors got it all wrong when they reported that two contractors ripped off the Broward school district while making Hurricane Wilma repairs, said officials of the district's construction department Thursday.

A draft of the audit report, sent to School Board members July 1, alleged C&B Services of Texas performed unnecessary work and submitted inflated - and falsified - bills for repairing 84 portable classrooms. It recommended the district demand a $765,608 refund from AshBritt Inc., which later claimed it, not C&B, was the general contractor.

However, Denis Herrmann, the district's director of design and construction contracts, insisted the repairs were necessary and performed at a $300,000 discount. He said the district submitted paperwork made after-the-fact - not falsified - because there was no electricity when the recovery began.

"It seems like the auditors were holding us to standards that you do under normal conditions," Herrmann said. "They are criticizing us for working under extreme conditions, and that's what I find most unfair."

His boss, Deputy Superintendent of Facilities and Construction Michael Garretson, acknowledged the district was unprepared after Wilma - forced to write agreements by hand and unable to produce contracts for two weeks. But he continued to angrily refute the audit, which earlier this week he said was filled with "errors and false accusations."

Garretson's office plans to submit an official response by July 17. The issue then will be vetted by the district's audit oversight committee before going to the School Board.

AshBritt Inc. also denied the allegations.

Chief Auditor Pat Reilly said he stands by the report, which calls for investigations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as state authorities.

Garretson said the school district now has an emergency plan that includes 57 companies approved to work should another hurricane hit. Licenses, proof of insurance and prices are on file, he said.

According to the 48-page audit, on Nov. 2, 2005, Garretson, Herrmann and another district official met with two representatives of C&B Services and lobbyist Ron Book. The district needed to fix roofs on portable classrooms, and to clean and dry water-logged walls, books and floors so mold wouldn't grow.

Garretson ordered his staff to expedite paperwork on a $1 million purchase order so the firm could start working, the audit said. But, it said, the company inflated lodging and food costs, double-billed for numerous repairs and did unnecessary work.

A district employee refused to pay C&B after noticing the company lacked the required license and was billing at twice the normal rate, the audit said.

At that point, auditors said, AshBritt, which has the required license, asserted it was the contractor and C&B was working for it. AshBritt then submitted bills on behalf of the Texas company and was paid.

As some district employees voiced concern over possible fraud, the audit said, "it became a possibility that . . . others were trying to potentially cover it up."

"We never had any type of arraignment with C&B," Garretson said. "Where is the contract with C&B? That's the question to ask."

The audit includes a copy of a purchase order issued to C&B Services on Nov. 22, 2005, to do $1 million in repair work.

To refute allegations that contractors needlessly fixed some classrooms, Garretson and Herrmann point to Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines.

The audit said the district was charged for 17 portable classrooms but only two were serviced.

Herrmann said building inspectors did only a visual survey of the outside of the campus and determined two buildings needed repairs. The inspectors didn't have access to inside. Follow-up work orders for more than 20 rooms were submitted by maintenance workers and the safety department, Herrmann said.

Later, C&B submitted a report showing it dried out and inspected 21 rooms, he said. It charged the district an average of $342 less than other contractors to replace roofs, he added.

"The auditors ignored all of that and point only to the [building] inspectors report," Herrmann said. "To focus on one piece of paper, then say we should sue someone. That's irresponsible."

Akilah Johnson can be reached at akjohnson@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4527.

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Commentary





DID BROWARD SCHOOLS GET SOAKED AFTER HURRICANE?

By Michael Mayo
July 9, 2009



Here's a lesson for the Broward school district: We live in South Florida.

South Florida is prone to hurricanes.

Hurricanes can damage many things, including schools, the district headquarters and that wonderful Florida innovation known as the port-o-classroom.

Apparently, this came as a surprise to school officials when Hurricane Wilma blew through in October 2005.

So instead of having a repair plan spelled out, the district was in full scramble mode in the chaotic days after Wilma.

"We got complacent," said School Board member Stephanie Kraft.

In that sense, the district was no better than most hapless homeowners after the storm: at the mercy of any contractor we could find, potential marks for opportunists or gougers.

The preliminary version of a scathing internal audit says the school district got soaked for $765,608 in inflated bills and unnecessary work by two firms hired to fix portable classrooms.

Pompano Beach-based AshBritt denies the allegations. The other firm, C&B Services of Texas, has been folded into another company.

The report calls for follow-up investigations by federal and state authorities, saying "there were clear signs of coercion and falsified documentation to facilitate approvals" and payments.

Kraft said whatever the outcome, the district is better prepared for the next storm. She said the School Board has approved contingency contracts for emergencies.

The deputy superintendent for construction and buildings management, Michael Garretson, has angrily disputed the audit. In an e-mail this week, he said the report was tantamount to "slander." He also wrote that the auditors' actions left him "totally disgusted."

Said chief auditor Patrick Reilly: "It would be inappropriate for me to comment on his statements at this time."

In an e-mail Wednesday, Denis Herrmann, a director under Garretson, said the "audit findings are not based on the entirety of the documentation and testimony provided." He said auditors reached an "illogical conclusion" when alluding to a potential cover-up.

Herrmann said it's unclear whether the district should seek a refund for overbilling, saying that "the prices paid to AshBritt were comparable to prices paid for similar work at that time in this market."

Garretson's office said it would give a detailed response to auditors by July 17. The matter will go to the district's audit committee July 23 and then to the School Board.

AshBritt and C&B had something in common: Both were represented by local mega-lobbyist Ron Book. Book is a campaign contributor to many School Board members.

The School Board didn't have anything to do with the initial awarding of $1 million worth of repair work to C&B Services. That came after Book and company officials met with Garretson in the frenzied weeks after the storm.

At the time, the district's downtown "Crystal Palace" headquarters was heavily damaged and officials were scurrying to get schools reopened.

"I don't think it's necessarily wrong that [Garretson] made the decision he did," said Kraft. "But I'm glad the auditors are looking at it. If there's a problem, we'll take action."

After staff raised questions about C&B's billing and licensing, auditors say the work was eventually folded into a $3.1 million purchase order with AshBritt.

It's not unusual for auditors to find billing discrepancies and allege overcharging by contractors. But this seems different, with the audit hinting at fraud and possible criminality.

Will School Board members greet it with a yawn or outrage?

Michael Mayo can be reached at mmayo@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4508.

More Mayo
Check out Michael Mayo's blog at SunSentinel.com/mayoblog
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South Florida Sun-Sentinel



SCHOOL BOARD: NO COMMENT ON DRAFT AUDIT'S ALLEGATIONS

By Akilah Johnson Staff Writer
July 8, 2009


Broward School Board members said Tuesday that it's too soon to respond to auditors' findings that two contractors ripped off the district for more than three-quarters of a million dollars after Hurricane Wilma.

Board members on July 1 were e-mailed a draft of the findings, which said the contractors performed unnecessary work and submitted inflated - and falsified - bills for repairing 84 portable classrooms. The draft, which will be finalized next week, also says some district employees voiced concern over possible fraud and "it became a possibility that...others were trying to potentially cover it up."

"It would be totally premature" to comment on the findings, said board member Stephanie Kraft. "Once we get a total and complete report, then we'll look at it."

The district auditors' report focused on invoices submitted by AshBritt Inc., a national disaster recovery company based in Pompano Beach, and C&B Services, a Texas-based company. District auditors say the Texas company was unlicensed to work in Florida.

Randy Perkins, CEO of AshBritt, said the Texas company was working for him and flatly denied the audit's allegations.

The auditors' draft calls for investigations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as state authorities. It also recommends the district demand a $765,608 refund from AshBritt.

Mike Garretson, the district's deputy superintendent for facilities and construction management, has until July 17 to respond to the questions raised in the audit, which he says has "many errors and missing pieces."

A week later, the report will be vetted by the Audit Committee, which is made up of regular citizens who review district audits.

"If there's any wrongdoing, we'll get to the bottom of it." said board member Beverly Gallagher.

Akilah Johnson can be reached at akjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4527.

School news

For the latest on school district news, go to SunSentinel.com/schools
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South Florida Sun-Sentinel



AUDITORS SAY DISTRICT OVERPAID FOR REPAIRS - CONTRACTOR REJECTS ALLEGATIONS IN REPORT

By Akilah Johnson and Paula McMahon Staff Writers
Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.


Auditors say the Broward school district was ripped off to the tune of more than three-quarters of a million dollars by two contractors who performed unnecessary work or submitted inflated bills for repairs made to portable classrooms damaged by Hurricane Wilma.

The district auditors' report, which will be finalized next week, calls for investigations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as state authorities.

The Sun Sentinel obtained a copy of the auditors' draft report, which also recommends the district demand a $765,608 refund from AshBritt Inc., a national disaster recovery company based in Pompano Beach, and one of the contractors scrutinized.

"There were clear signs of coercion and falsified documentation to facilitate the approvals and ultimately the recommendation to process payments to AshBritt, Inc.," auditors say in the 48-page report. "Additionally, we believe the final documents submitted for payment were falsified and inflated."

Mike Garretson, the district's deputy superintendent for facilities and construction management, said in an e-mail to his boss Monday the auditors' actions had left him "totally disgusted." He asked to meet with Superintendent James Notter, as well as Chief Auditor Patrick Reilly, "to discuss the accusations and innuendo contained in the report that amount to slander."

In a separate e-mail to the Sun Sentinel, Garretson said his department plans to present its response to auditors next week, adding that "there are so many errors and missing pieces in their audit that it is taking a lot of research."

Randy Perkins, CEO of AshBritt, flatly denied the audit's allegations.

"If anyone can show me where I did anything that was unscrupulous, that was remotely unprofessional in the way I conducted business... I will absolutely refund the school board their money," Perkins said in an interview. "I'll take the check to them myself."

The auditors' report says that after Hurricane Wilma swept across Broward County on Oct. 24, 2005, the school district hired C&B Services, a Texas-based contractor, to repair 84 portable classrooms, but the company over-billed by inflating lodging and food costs, double-billing for numerous repairs as well as doing unnecessary work.

The auditors said a district employee refused to pay C&B after noticing that the company lacked the required license and was billing at twice the normal rate.

At that point, the auditors said, AshBritt, which has the required license, asserted that it was the actual contractor, and that C&B was working for it. AshBritt then submitted bills on behalf of the Texas company and was ultimately paid.

Perkins, the AshBritt CEO, said C&B was licensed to do the work it performed and that it was also covered by AshBritt's general contractor license. According to Perkins, his own company has done an estimated $1.5 billion worth of disaster recovery and management work nationwide in the past 10 years.

According to the audit, less than two weeks after Wilma, on Nov. 2, 2005, Garretson met with two representatives of C&B Services, two other school district officials and lobbyist Ron Book. Throughout the district, roofs on portable classrooms damaged by the storm needed to be repaired or replaced. Water-logged walls, books and floors needed to cleaned and dried so mold wouldn't grow.

Garretson ordered his staff to expedite paperwork on a $1 million purchase order so the Texas company could start working to repair the classrooms, the audit said.

After C&B started sending its bills, a district employee sent an e-mail to supervisors telling them that the district was being charged at twice the industry norm for replacing the roofs, the auditors said. Staff members later sounded the alarm over the company's lack of a license.

As some employees of the Broward school district were voicing concern over possible fraud, the auditors said, "it became a possibility that... others were trying to potentially cover it up."

In the interview, Perkins of AshBritt said it was his business that contacted the school district first, and that it brought in the Texas company later. He said he may have had Book contact the school district, but that he could not remember "how it went down." Book could not be reached to comment.

According to the auditors, on Jan. 5, 2006, AshBritt received a purchase order from the district to do $3.1 million in Wilma-related work. By then, C&B Services was 11 days away from completing its job.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Akilah Johnson can be reached at akjohnson@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4527.