Broward schools under ethic czar’s eyes? Voters to decide in November.
Broward voters will decide in November whether their ethics watchdog’s duties should extend to the School Board.
Broward county commissioners agreed Tuesday to add the question to the ballot for the presidential election.
If voters agree, the School Board members, district employees and the superintendent would fall under the eye of the Broward Office of the Inspector General, which now investigates alleged fraud, mismanagement and corruption by elected and appointed officials, employees, and contractors in the county and its 31 towns and cities.
The Broward Inspector General’s office is governed by a charter that was approved by voters through a 2010 ballot referendum.
Recent cases have included slamming cities for “fraud, waste and abuse” and using SunPass transponder records to catch officials from Fort Lauderdale to Coconut Creek to show where they really lived.
If approved, the office, known as the OIG, would investigate all elected and appointed officials and employees of the School Board, and people or companies that “provide goods or services” by contract.
Excluded would be members of groups, such as committees, boards, and councils, who are not appointed by a School Board member or the superintendent, such as the Parent Teachers Association, and athletic programs.
The idea has been controversial in the past.
As a state senator in 2011, Nan Rich, now Broward’s mayor, helped kill a bill that sought to add the school district to the county’s Office of Inspector General. Evan Jenne, then a Democratic state representative from Hollywood, wanted more oversight for the school district following a damning grand jury report and the arrest of two School Board members on corruption and ethics charges.
But the School Board initially didn’t want it, saying it was unnecessary or too expensive. Both the School Board and county commission need to approve the item before it goes to voters; The School Board already consented to a proposal to expand the duties of county ethics investigators.
After multiple investigations by grand juries, law enforcement and auditors, a new School Board in 2022 agreed to the oversight.
Tuesday’s vote officially put the question on the November ballot.
“Good for them,” said Mayor Rich, of the School Board’s desire to be included for future reviews, on Tuesday. It is “more opportunity for oversight.”
Commissioner Michael Udine said after the county commission vote that the move would “ensure the public is getting the best value for their dollar.”
“It’s the right thing to do, it’s a long time coming,” he said. Ethics investigators would be “another set of eyes to all the business dealings.”
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash