Broward County Public Schools got a new superintendent Tuesday after Peter Licata unexpectedly announced his resignation due to health concerns, and now his successor has inherited all the many problems facing the nation’s sixth-largest school district.
What exactly are these challenges and how will Howard Hepburn, the new chief administrator, tackle them?
His first few hours on stage may have shed some light on that.
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Resolving the ‘slow and complicated’ plans to close schools
The biggest problem for the Broward school district — and for Hepburn — remains the loss of millions of dollars due to declining student enrollment.
On Tuesday, the district’s chief financial officer, Judith Marte, said the loss of 4,300 students in the upcoming school year has translated into a loss of $39 million in state funding.
Tuesday’s meeting was the day Licata would have provided details on what could be done to shrink the district. During a meeting last month, he promised board members to come up with a more concrete proposal, but instead he submitted his resignation. Hepburn had already worked closely with Licata and Alan Strauss, the school district’s chief strategy and innovation officer, on school closures. So the frustration board members felt when they saw how far the district was from anything resembling a plan was directed at Howard.
READ MORE: After chaotic meeting, Broward schools are still no closer to their school closure plans
During the meeting, when district staffers said they plan to continue seeking specific plans to close or repurpose specific schools, the board urged Hepburn to be more transparent and efficient. One board member called the process so far “too complicated” and “too slow.”
Hepburn said he will work to increase transparency and community input, and will bring forward details on this topic at the next board meeting.
“That May 14 workshop will provide a lot of quantitative data that will help make the case for decision-making about why certain options were chosen, why certain school closures should be expected and also outline the next steps afterward,” he said.
Broward Charter Schools’ debts have been settled
On March 27, the State Board of Education determined that the Broward County School Board is currently in violation of state law and owes approximately $80 million to local charter schools.
The state board accused the local school board of failing to comply with a statute that requires the school district to proportionately share the funds it collects from a discretionary tax with charter schools, which are schools funded by taxpayers but managed by private entities.
The available money came from a 2018 voter-approved referendum, which the charter schools sued the school district last fall.
The state asked the district in late March to show how it will meet revenue-sharing requirements by April 17.
FROM MARCH: Florida education officials say Broward Public Schools owe charters about $80 million
On Tuesday, the Broward School Board met behind closed doors with the charter schools’ attorneys to negotiate a debt settlement. After the hearing, the school board approved a payment plan for the period 2024 to 2026.
The school board will pay one-third of the debt plus interest on July 10, 2024, then half of the remaining balance plus interest on July 10, 2025, and the entire balance remaining with interest on July 10, 2026. All charter schools in the county will be subject to this taking advantage.
Board member Allen Zeman was the only board member who disagreed, but did not say why. Board member Torey Alston abstained from voting “out of an abundance of caution.”
On Wednesday, Hepburn will likely travel to Tallahassee to share the news with the state’s top education officials.
Dealing with a budget worth losing sleep over
Declining revenues due to enrollment declines, the charter school settlement and a decision to approve teacher raises in late February have all impacted the school district’s nearly $6 billion budget.
On Feb. 27, the Broward School Board agreed to use nearly $20 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to increase teacher salaries. But because it’s a recurring expense and the district won’t get more federal dollars, the district will have to make cuts elsewhere .
The board addressed the topic on Tuesday, and Marte said the board will have to make “difficult decisions” to keep their financial situation under control.
“I’m probably losing more sleep trying to balance this budget than I have since 2008, when we had the Great Recession,” she said. In 2008, Marte served as CFO for Miami Dade County Public Schools. She spent nearly fifteen years at MDCPS and has since served the Broward school district for a total of six years.
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“I don’t sleep well,” she said, “and I dare say most of my staff doesn’t either.”
Still, Marte said Hepburn participated in the process even though he was leading academics, so he could transition into that supervisory role more easily than others.
“Dr. Hepburn has been deeply involved in working through the budget with me at a partnership level that, in my experience, academics have not historically been involved in. He has been a great thinking partner. And he has helped shape some of what we present as difficult decisions, but decisions that need to be made.”
Bible controversy leads to process review?
During Tuesday’s unpredictable meeting, Hepburn also addressed the controversial issue of book challenges in schools.
Currently, the Broward School District allows any Broward resident to object to materials used in public schools.
The process begins by completing a form describing the objection. The director of the district’s Innovative Learning Department will then convene a Superintendent’s Review Committee to review the appeal. The committee uses a rubric to decide whether the material violates policy or law, and then submits a recommendation to the Superintendent. The chief inspector then decides whether or not to follow the advice and passes this on to the school board.
Because the district received an objection to the Bible last year, an SRC met in December to discuss the objection and decided to leave the book in schools. Licata asked the board to approve that, and the board did. But the topic attracted many public speakers who complained about different material and the process itself.
FROM 2023: See the list of banned, restricted books in Dade and Broward schools
Towards the end of the discussion, board member Brenda Fam asked Hepburn to give his thoughts on it.
“I won’t give a specific opinion, but I will say that we have a specific process; our team is continuing that process,” Hepburn said. “When I get that information, I look at it with a fine-toothed comb and support or do something else based on the recommendation.”
“Do you agree with me that that process failed?” Fam hit back.
“Let me say this, we will review the process,” he said. “I’ve heard feedback from people in the audience on both sides of the issue. We will use a fine-toothed comb and review the process and make sure it works for everyone.”
