Broward County Public Schools

Broward County Public Schools is a public school district serving Broward County, Florida, is the sixth largest public school system in the nation. During the 2022–2023 school year, Broward County Public Schools served 254,384 students enrolled in 330 schools and education centers district wide.[3] The district is headquartered in downtown Fort Lauderdale.[4] It is the sole school district in the county.[5]

Broward County Public Schools
Location
Broward County
Florida
United States
District information
TypePublic
MottoEducating Today's Students For Tomorrow's World
GradesPre K-12
Established1915 (1915)
SuperintendentPeter Licata
Schools330 (2022)[1]
Budget$3.86 billion (2017)[2]
Students and staff
Students256,021 (2021)[1] (6th-largest in U.S.)
Teachers14,326 (2021) [1]
Staff30,529 (2021)[1]
Other information
Teachers' unionsFlorida Education Association
Websitebrowardschools.com

History

William J. Leary served as superintendent until 1988; the school board did not want him to serve out the remainder of his term, so it paid him $113,516 in severance.[6]

Virgil "Sam" Morgan became superintendent of Broward county in 1988. In 1994 Broward's superintendent, Virgil "Sam" Morgan retired after leading the School district for more than five years.

In 1994 Frank Petruzielo became the superintendent. Petruzielo time as superintendent ended in 1999.

Frank Till became the Superintendent in 1999 after Frank Petruzielo retirement. Frank Till however was fired by the school board for no apparent reason in 2006.

James Notter replaced Til's in 2006. Notter in 2011 James resigned from his position as superintendent.

Robert Runcie became superintendent following the resignation of James Notter in 2011. Under Runcie the MSD school shooting took place and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 Robert Runice was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on a felony charge of perjury, after a grand jury commissioned by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 to review safety and security matters after the Parkland school shooting recommend it. Robert Runcie, then resigned his position In 2021.

Vickie Cartwright in 2021 was chosen as interim superintendent by the Broward county school board. Controversially she later became the superintendent. In November 2022 Dr. Vickie Cartwright was fired by the school board members that Governor Ron DeSantis's appointed. In December 2022 the newly elected board members rescinds her firing. Dr. Vickie Cartwright later resigned in 2023.

Broward County Public Schools' current superintendent is Dr. Peter B. Licata.

School Board

The current Superintendent of schools is Dr. Peter Licata.[7] The members of the school board, which oversee the district, are as follows:[8]

  • District 1 – Daniel Foganholi
  • District 2 – Torey Alston
  • District 3 – Sarah Leonardi
  • District 4 – Lori Alhadeff (Vice Chair)
  • District 5 – Dr. Jeff Holness
  • District 6 – Brenda Fam
  • District 7 – Nora Rupert
  • District 8 (At Large) – Dr. Allen Zeman
  • District 9 (At Large) – Debra Hixon (chair)

Superintendent of Schools
  • William Leary (1984-1988)
  • Sam Morgan (1988-1994)
  • Frank Petruzielo (1994-1999)
  • Frank Till (1999-2006)
  • James Notter (2006-2011)
  • Robert Runcie (2011-2021)
  • Vickie Cartwright (2021-2023)
  • Earlean C. Smiley (2023)
  • Peter B. Licata (2023-present)

Controversies

Handling of Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting

On February 14, 2018, a former student opened fire at a Broward school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others.

Superintendent Robert Runcie and the School Board faced criticism for their handling of policies and the lack of guidance assisted to the shooter.[9] In April 2018, student Kenneth Preston revealed an investigation into an $800 million bond for safety and building projects that the school board had not carried out efficiently.[10] Runcie and the Board faced particular criticism, including from some parents of students at Stoneman Douglas High School, for the creation of an alternative discipline program for students accused of nonviolent misdemeanors called "Promise", which the Parkland shooter had been referred to.[11]

In the lead up to the 2018 gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Ron DeSantis vowed to remove Runcie from his office, although he conceded that only the school board could do so.[11] On February 13, 2019, now Florida Governor DeSantis announced that he had petitioned a statewide grand jury investigation.[12]

In May 2021, after the grand jury indicted him for perjury during their investigation, Runcie announced his intention to step down.[11] Supporters of Runcie accused the grand jury investigation that led to his indictment of being politically motivated.[11]

School closures and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the school district switched almost entirely to online classes in March 2020 and gradually returned to in-person instruction starting in the fall of 2020. The exact timing of school re-openings led to tension between the school board and the state government.[13] Throughout the 2020–2021 school year, the district required all students and staff to wear face masks as a preventative measure. In the fall of 2021, growing public opposition to mask mandates led Governor Ron DeSantis to prohibit local school districts from requiring masks.[14] The school board chose to defy the state government and continue requiring masks, along with several other school districts in the state. In response the Florida Board of Education voted to prevent the district from doing so and could replace elected board members.[15] DeSantis withheld funding from school districts that required masks.[14] The federal government stepped in to replace the money with federal funds, but after the state blocked that funding as well, the US Department of Education warned the state that it may have violated federal law.[16]

List of schools

During the 2022–2023 academic school year, the District served 254,384 students.[3] The district covers a total of 286 institutions: 138 elementary schools, 43 middle schools, 33 high schools, 16 adult/vocational schools, 16 centers, and 56 charter schools.[3]

6-12 secondary schools

High schools

Middle schools

Elementary schools

See also

References
  1. "About Us / About Us". www.browardschools.com. Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  2. "District Budget "017-18" (PDF). Broward.k12.fl.us. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  3. "Press Releases". Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  4. Contact Us Archived May 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
  5. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Broward County, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 31, 2022. - Text list
  6. Gittelsohn, John (January 19, 1994). "BOARD". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. "Superintendent / Superintendent's Bio". www.browardschools.com. Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  8. "Meet the Board / Meet the Board". www.browardschools.com. Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  9. Travis, Megan O'Matz, Scott. "Schools' culture of tolerance lets students like Nikolas Cruz slide". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "Student Journalist Says Discipline Policy Hurt School Safety Before Shooting". The Daily Signal. April 11, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  11. Amrus, Teo. "Facing perjury charges, Florida superintendent offers to step down to give 'peace' to Parkland survivors". Washington Post. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  12. Swisher, Scott Travis, Megan O'Matz, Skyler. "Governor asks grand jury to investigate school failures in Parkland shootings". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. Travis, Scott (September 29, 2020). "Broward schools could open sooner than planned". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  14. "Florida to dock salaries, withhold funding from 8 school districts for requiring masks". NBC News. October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  15. Postal, Leslie (August 17, 2021). "State board takes action against Alachua, Broward schools for imposing mask mandate". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  16. Goñi-Lessan, Ana (October 25, 2021). "Biden Administration warns Florida over financial sanctions against school boards with mask mandates". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  17. Benjamin, Jody (June 30, 1996). "Attacks alumni celebrate past, look to the future". South Florida Sun Sentinel. p. 4.
  18. Cunningham, Denyse. "Broward County Schools: Some Places of Instruction". Broward Legacy. Broward County Historical Commission. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
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