The Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury recommended that the Broward School Board members be removed from office due to their incapacity, negligence of duty, and abuse of power.
As a result, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray, and Laurie Rich Levinson from their positions today.
A safety alarm that might have saved lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was “was and is such a low priority that it remains uninstalled at multiple schools,” according to the grand jury’s final report, even four years after the events of February 14, 2018, and “students continue to be educated in unsafe, aging, decrepit, moldy buildings that were supposed to have been renovated years ago.”
These are inappropriate behaviors from school board members that have a history of encouraging unethical conduct, such as fraud and poor administration, across the system.
These exclusions take effect right now.
Governor Ron DeSantis said, “It is my responsibility to suspend anyone from office when there is clear proof of incompetence, neglect of duty, misfeasance, or wrongdoing.”
“The Statewide Grand Jury’s findings support the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Commission’s efforts.
We are appreciative of the jury members’ long hours of service, and we believe that this suspension will move the Parkland neighborhood one step closer to justice.
All Florida people, including Broward County residents and students, will benefit from this move.
Additionally today, Governor DeSantis replaced the four suspended members with four new appointees to the Broward County School Board:
Ryan Reiter, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and Director of Government Relations for Kaufman Lynn Construction;
Torey Alston, a former member of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and President of Indelible Solutions;
Manual “Nandy” A. Serrano, a member of the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors and CEO and Founder of Clubhouse Private Wealth;
and Kevin Tynan, an attorney with Richardson and Tynan who previously served on the Broward County School
The Florida Supreme Court appointed the 20th Statewide Grand Jury in February 2019 in response to the terrible deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School the previous February.
The Statewide Grand Jury was tasked with investigating four matters, including whether public organizations and school administrators misused monies intended for school safety.
The statewide grand jury concluded in its final report that the SMART Program, a multimillion dollar bond particularly sought for school safety and renovation efforts, was improperly administered by these board members.
The Statewide Grand Jury also discovered that the Board was aware of significant issues with the SMART Program, including the incompetence or reluctance of former Superintendent Runcie to handle such issues, but did nothing about them.
The Statewide Grand Jury concluded by recommending the removal of four existing school board members from their positions in its final report.
Rosalind Osgood, a previous member of the fifth school board who is no longer serving in that capacity and is not subject to the Governor’s administrative suspension power, was also cited in the Statewide Grand Jury report.