Key Tally Demo: More School Money Doubtful Because Of Broward Schools “Years Of Mismanagement”
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BY BUDDY NEVINS
State Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Coral Springs is no fan of the Broward County School Board and the school administrators.
In fact, he appears downright hostile about the poor way the public schools have been managed.
Moskowitz isn’t keeping his opinions to himself. He was very vocal with his criticism in an interview with Browardbeat.com and in comments on Miami public radio.
That is bad news for the school higher ups. Moskowitz is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Jared Moskowitz
Despite the fact that he is a local guy, Moskowitz warned he would be “skeptical” about rewarding the Broward Schools any extra state money this year.
Why does Moskowitz feel this way?
“Years and years of mismanagement” by the Broward School Board and the administration, he said.
“You have the School Board’s inability to build more schools to accommodate growth,” Moskowitz said. “They can’t even take care of the facilities they have.”
He singled out the millions of dollars that Parkland gave the school system for classrooms that haven’t been built yet, despite years of promises.
“They have the money and they can’t do anything with it,” Moskowitz said.
Ouch!
Since Moskowitz is arguably the House Democrat with the most control over Broward’s state education money, school pooh-bahs should be worried. Very, very worried.
Even the Republicans on the Appropriations Committee will listen to what Moskowitz has to say about spending in his home county.
Moskowitz’s outspoken attack of school management is seldom heard from a leading Broward elected politician.
Electeds want everybody to love them. They generally avoid criticizing their fellow government officials….publicly.
Pull them off to the side, go “off the record,” and almost every one will say that the Broward schools are mismanaged. Almost every one will say that the School Board are lightweights and the administrators are incompetent.
But no elected says it openly.
That’s why Moskowitz’s comments are refreshingly honest. Taxpayers should cheer when he said about the schools:
“There is a tremendous amount of bureaucracy…They need to get leaner…We will be asking, ‘How effectively are they spending the money they already get?’ The Legislature will be very interested in the answers.”
Below is a transcript of what Moskowitz and House Appropriations Chair Carlos Trujillo, a Miami-Dade Republican who also represents a sliver of south Broward, told WLRN. If anything, it is more ominous than Moskowitz’s comments to this website because it is clear that he is on the same page as Trujillo:
Trujillo: I would say [per student funding] is going to be basically flat line. If you look at what the average child here in Miami-Dade County is receiving in state money, it’s about $7,200. That’s right. That’s per student funding. If you look at that amount you’re putting into that classroom of 25 students, $7,000 per student, that’s a significant amount of money. That classroom is generating $200,000 for the school district not including the capital projects and the maintenance. That’s separate. They’re paying that teacher $50,000 – $65,000 a year. What’s happening to the rest of the money? Those are questions that parents have to ask. If we’re sending all this money into this classroom and that classroom is generating $200,000, what’s happening to the excess? Administration and bureaucracy weigh down the systems. It’s really the problem of public education. They receive enough money.
Moskowitz: I’m from Broward County which just a year ago had to pass an $800 million bond to take care of our schools. That is evidence that at the school board level something is broken. There is no reason that they should have had to go back to the taxpayers. That’s years and years of mismanagement. We’re spending money per student just like we’re spending money on health care. Where’s the money going? What are the outcomes what are we getting for that? Let me ask you about the funding on education when it comes to property taxes. You referred to this earlier in our conversation about the state Legislature essentially taking about a half billion dollars so that the state portion of property taxes didn’t increase by that amount because of rising property values. Will you do it again if property values continue to go up?
January 2nd, 2017 at 1:02 pm
1. Representative Modkowitz is right BUT
2. His Parkland neighbors FAILED TO DEFEAT ABBY FREEMAND
January 2nd, 2017 at 2:52 pm
I love you.Buddy Nevins. Please keep up the great reporting.
January 2nd, 2017 at 3:37 pm
I am now looking up to the sky to see the flying pigs. Whoda’ thought?
January 2nd, 2017 at 8:29 pm
If you care about your kids, sacrifice a little. We always have Saint Thomas, Cardinal Gibbons or American Heritage and others. Don’t be a cheap skate.
I was always amazed when in Haiti, many parents would scratch and save and send their kids to private schools because of the coruption at the public ones.
January 2nd, 2017 at 8:48 pm
@3Charlotte Greenbarg.
Spot on, thank you and Happy New Year!
Buddy you need a ‘Like’ button, thumbs up or something for the comments.
Separately there is a new Secretary of Ed coming in to Wash DC and there will be changes. She has four years to
get ‘er done, but it will not take that long.
SBBC better get their act together asap. Either way runcie contract up in 2019 and hopefully sent packing.
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:24 am
The current Secretary of Education, John King, received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, and a Doctor of Education degree from Columbia.
Yale and Columbia. Top notch universities.
The incoming Sec., Betsy Devos, graduated from Holland Christian High School and Calvin College (polly sci degree).
Calvin College, not so top-flight.
***
The outgoing Sec. of Energy, Ernest Moniz, earned his Stanford PhD in physics.
Moniz also worked at MIT.
The incoming Sec, Rick Perry, graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science in Animal science.
His GPA was a bit over 2.0.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/05/rick-perry-college-transcript_n_919357.html
***
Change is coming alright, and while your seat cushions can be used as a flotation device in case of a water landing, it will be ill-suiteded for protection for the upcoming crash into the side of a mountain.
Don’t blame me … I didn’t vote for the Orange Hindenberg.
January 3rd, 2017 at 9:48 am
@5 – really? Check out the last 2 secretaries of ed under Obama – both had their fingers in the the charter school pie. Democrats use teachers’ unions for votes and then ignore them. Republicans cut to the chase and just ignore teachers altogether. What’s the difference?
PS – I have a lot of faith in our bureaucracy so I expect little, if any change.
January 3rd, 2017 at 11:25 am
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx?LegislativeTermId=87
find your reps and call them!! This seems to be a man who does not want SSDD! (same stuff, different day) Call and ask him to keep the best teachers by funding the Dale Hickam Act, already on the books and waiting for the money to be properly spent.
January 3rd, 2017 at 6:16 pm
The significant issue is that ONE politician just may have the cahones to light a fire under the asses of the BCSB-most importantly board members who rated the SI as “highly effective.”
Curious about whether Rep.M has any idea how much support and backing he will receive from both sides of the aisle.
Thank you Buddy. This is GREAT news.
January 3rd, 2017 at 7:34 pm
And…Cooper City just gave them money in addition to the recent $800M they got.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:45 am
I appreciate your much needed reporting on the school board. Also… Publishing the honest musings of Moskowitz, an elected official are, indeed, refreshing. Supt. Runcie, a businessman… Not an educator… Needs to go back to Chicago of his own volition and take with him the computer based, hyper testing ideologies he brought with him from Chicago… Broward has not been well served by these ideologies and neither was Chicago… Students at Stranahan are getting rained on while at school. The 800 million bond can not keep their heads dry, nor can it update their cafeteria, which is apparently tented. The city of Fort Lauderdale officials have also stated they lost all faith in Supt. Runcie and voiced it at a recent meeting with school board officials at Fort Lauderdale City Hall. . They said he made promises, but the promises have not been kept. I sort of feel the same way now that I have a front row seat to the SBBC spending habits under Runcie. Who else is upset? Teacher morale and overall workforce morale is at an all time low. SBBC employees qualify for welfare… Even teachers qualify! Our student citizens are rained on while they go to school… But at each board meeting… one computer based program after another is purchased to be used on low quality Lenovo computers that were purchased in mass. For me, This superintendent has overstayed his welcome! We have plenty
of local talent. Let’s find a local person to run our schools who really cares about
Broward and its economy. One who stops shipping our taxes out of state for pricey purchases would be nice! Just watch the school board meetings and you can enjoy the view, along with me, as millions of dollars are spent on computer based programs that will “solve” everything. Why, these computers can virtually replace teachers, they are so amazing… And if you believe that You will also believe why they are also so expensive. Cha Ching! Follow the money! It’s leaving Broward. Some teachers took a 20 thousand dollar pay cut on Runcie’s watch. No one knew how to protect our citizens or our educational workforce from the financial short fall caused by horrible laws like SB736, but computer program sales are booming in Broward! Wake Up Broward! Take a good look at what is going on! Teachers are no longer even able to teach creatively … They are just test proctors and computer program supervisors. Cha Ching! Someone is making money… But they are not our SBBC workforce, nor are they workers to fix and repair our schools. Where is all that money? Why isn’t it being used as it should be? Hmmmm?
On the state level what we need is the state legislature to stop making union busting laws that benefit computer, testing and greed corporations over honest people in our state. Whose pockets are getting lined? Where’s the $$ going?!
Not into Broward County school repairs or our workforce pockets to re-invigorate our economy, I’ll tell you that much! The laws passed by our state must have a magnifying glass applied to them. Look at the fine print and follow the money right out of Broward! Wake Up Florida! And yes! All this test happy, computer crazed ideology is making bank for the 1%. Technology is needed. Change is here. We enter the 21st Century, yes! But, we must stop allowing our education coffers from being siphoned off by private interests and hedge fund managers for the richest corporations on the globe. The school grade craze must end. It isn’t working. And it is distracting us from what really matters. People matter. Kids matter. Our schools being built matters. The tests (which are making some folks outside of Broward rich) are not meaningful measures of students, teachers, communities or learning. This is harming our neighborhoods… who lives by an F school? Your property values just went down… So did your teacher moral… So did student joy of learning… We must stop this gold rush into our Broward classrooms. We must tell the test manufacturers and computer program sales people to STOP PANNING FOR GOLD IN BROWARD CLASSROOMS. Our children are what matters. Good instruction is what matters. Humane teaching and care for our communities is what matters. Fixing broken schools matters. Building new quality public schools matters. Our communities of poverty are suffering the most under the recent test crazed ideology that Broward is advancing at a faster pace than teachers can assimilate or students can appreciate. Where is all the money going? So glad people are asking. Now … Please… Start FOLLOWING THE MONEY!!! You will have your answers there ! Sorry for the rant! Excuse any typos. And find me on FB or at our next board meeting if you have any questions. This topic really got to me heated. Education Spending should be about KIDS and PUBLIC EDUCATION… not about greed corporations getting richer… Not about “deforming” our neighborhood schools, and not about a money grab out of Broward education tax coffers… $$ is going out of classrooms and student supplies… $$ is leaving the pockets of our deserving SBBC workforce… Who were promised a living wage and got sucker punched by Broward. SB736 gave our district a perfect excuse to pull the rug out from under our teachers, insulting them with a thing called “merit pay” after decades of service. Did you know Broward is shorting many veterans over 20 thousand a year?? That is money that could go to local businesses. The money is leaving Broward left and right and its leaving our state! Where is it going?
FOLLOW THE MONEY! It’s not going to fix our schools. It’s not going back to the taxpayers, either! Hmmmm!?
January 4th, 2017 at 9:05 am
It is about time! Time that someone in Tallahassee is FINALLY saying what we all know to be true! @Payup, I am ALSO impressed but it should NOT be required! Many great educators in Broward Schools being HUNTED out of careers because CRIMINALS and the inept are easier to control and abuse. I can only hope this is a beginning of REAL change. But that is up to the people of Broward!
January 4th, 2017 at 10:11 am
#6 Runcie’s degree is from Harvard. A top notch school does not teach you ethics and does not teach good instinct.
January 4th, 2017 at 10:21 am
This is not the first time a person with influence has criticized SBBC. Someone who knows someone usually gets to them before anything happens. I will believe it when I see it. The bottom line is Runcie had the opportunity to clean house of those who waste SBBC money on construction and IT projects, yet, they are still working at SBBC. Runcie knows very well who those incompetents are and he has chosen to keep them. Staff has complained and were forced to resign, retire or keep their mouths shut if they want to keep their job and then blackballed. Staff has gone to Board Members and still continue to feed Board Members information before and during Board meetings. Yet, most Board members still keep him and the public keeps re-electing Board members who are not truly serving their best interest.
January 4th, 2017 at 10:32 am
The scariest part of this article is that Trujillo actually thinks teachers get paid $50-$65k! The average teacher salary in Broward is only about $45k.
Also, although I don’t know exactly what is going on here, but I can imagine there are plenty of other expenses such as buses, electricity, water, school resource officers, books, janitors, lunch ladies, guidance counselors, libraries, computer labs, science lab expenses, printing and copying, educational software purchases, IT specialists, gym equipment, art and music supplies… Making all of this run on $200k INCLUSIVE of the underpaid teacher’s salary per classroom seems rather cheap to me.
Also, capital and operating expenses are strictly separated under Florida law which means you shouldn’t lump them together
I’m not saying there’s not mismanagement. I’m just saying that these numbers are complex and this needs more reporting and investigation than the complaint of one or two pissed off legislators.
January 4th, 2017 at 10:44 am
The BCSC majority keeps winning ELECTIONS. Blogging changes NOTHING. Democrats have NO poer in the State. Change the School Board.
January 4th, 2017 at 3:16 pm
Thank God somebody in government is paying attention to this Fiasco. It’s easy enough to prove the reality of his statements. Perform an extensive INDEPENDENT audit on the Purchasing, Maintenance and Facilities departments and the truth will be exposed.
January 4th, 2017 at 5:50 pm
Get rid of Runcie & his school board puppets that he controls – PROBLEM SOLVED!
Hire a supt. who is familiar with Florida schools – someone from our state – there has to be someone out there who qualifies for this position.
January 4th, 2017 at 7:05 pm
Thanks, just Saying. Happy New Year to you too.
And to Buddy all my friends in S FL that I do miss.
January 4th, 2017 at 8:31 pm
Yep, here’s the problem alrighty… MOSKOWITZ, should know that public education is funded at a level lower than 9 years ago… oops, guess he didn’t know that. But shouldn’t he, he’s got the purses strings, right?
Same POLITICIAN said counties need to step up to the financial plate and contribute more to their schools… and yet, when they do… somehow it’s wrong?
Buddy, love your site, however do not be manipulated by this id10t. He’s part of the problem, not a problem solver.
Everybody else, go look at where our tax money really went when you tossed it to the charter “for profiteers”??? Absolutely no accountability….
January 4th, 2017 at 10:02 pm
Terry Preuss hit the nail on the head. Ask the teachers in Broward how they voted… Ask about the rampant bullying as well. I retired after 30 plus years of that crap. I’ve already been offered several jobs here. Decided to switch gears and work for people that actually care about children. Your board members need to step up like Rupert and Bartleman who remind Mr. Runcie he works fr THEM! Rant over!
January 5th, 2017 at 6:55 pm
The first order of business in 2017 for the SBBC is to fire Robert Runcie along with his cabinet. If that doesnt happen nothing will change. Board members are you hearing ehat We The People want?
January 5th, 2017 at 8:58 pm
@8 – love the Dale Hickam Act. Too bad beginning teachers get bonuses for SAT scores rather than those with NBPTS certification.
January 6th, 2017 at 12:21 pm
“They’re paying that teacher $50,000 – $65,000 a year”
Wow, so sad they don’t even know the facts. Majority of teachers are making less than $50K.
I agree on the rest. They sure know how to waste money on everything but actually teaching kids reading and math.
January 7th, 2017 at 1:02 pm
20: Check the federal reports they send in showing all of the non-classroom teachers. Discover the hundreds of people who get more than teachers do because the positions were created by the unions to give their supporters higher paying jobs. Nova was in on this from the beginning. That’s where the money’s going. Why do you think charters can pay management companies (not all of them deserve it) with the money they get? Because they don’t have the middle management.
January 8th, 2017 at 7:20 pm
Charlotte Greenbarg:
#20
Wrongo raindeer. Lower “cost-per-pupil” administration than Palm Beach or Miami-Dade…
I American public education is doing OK.
II Most, 99%, of school districts are not, nor do they need, superman.
III If you can’t see the first two points, congratulations you have been manipulated.
#21 Congrats!
#22 Elected officials no NOTHING about education
#20 CORRECT!
January 14th, 2017 at 9:09 am
Thank you, Terry, you have my vote for replacement Superintendent. I am one of those teachers being underpaid by $20,000. After 22 years of good evaluations, test scores and parent commendations, I make $50,000. By this point, I would have made $71,000 ten years ago. And the word is out. The number of students in college pursuing education is plummeting. I feel so sorry for the young teachers I work with, who may not fully realize the financial implications of their chosen career. I will be underpaid over $180,000 over my last 13 years, which will also have a devastating effect on my retirement. WHERE IS THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT?! IMPLIED CONTRACT PEOPLE! This should be a slam dunk for any competent labor attorney…SBBC isn’t really about education–it’s about cronyism, big bucks, pointless mandates and needless micromanagement, topped with a heapin’ helpin’ of corruption. Maybe if I do a good job, I will reach $52,000 by my 30th and final year–a whopping $12,000 more than a beginning teacher.
January 14th, 2017 at 2:15 pm
1. The School Board is ELECTED. The problem is the Voters DONT care.