For most of us who work for a living, showing up on the job on a work day is a minimal expectation. But for members of the School Board of Broward County, just showing up appears to be asking too much.
Last Thursday morning wasn’t just a regular work day for the board — it was the day board members had scheduled to review and approve the employment contract for arguably the most important employee of Broward County Public Schools — the superintendent who manages the sixth largest public school system in the country.
As it turned out, only three board members showed up for the meeting in person. Three others — Chairwoman Lori Alhadeff, Vice Chairwoman Debbi Hixon and Nora Rupert — were patched in by phone, having given advanced notice that they would be unavailable. Three others — Torey Alston, Daniel Foganholi and Brenda Fam — failed to show up for work after indicating at the previous board meeting that they would be available. Fam, at least, belatedly phoned in.
State law requires a physical quorum at the meeting location for any official business to be conducted, which in this case means at least five of nine board members need to be in the room. Keep in mind that this was a publicly noticed official meeting of the School Board that was scheduled in advance, prior to which a majority of the members said they could make this meeting.
Meanwhile, there patiently sat Dr. Peter Licata, the long-time Palm Beach County Public Schools administrator who only a couple of weeks ago was selected by the board to be the new superintendent, as the minutes slipped by beyond the scheduled 9 a.m. official start of the meeting with no quorum in sight until Acting Superintendent Dr. Earlean Smiley finally threw in the towel and canceled it.
They are scheduled to try again on July 11 to get at least five school board members to show up in person for a redo, while Smiley continues to work overtime to get the school district ready for the new school year that starts in less than two months. In the meantime, Licata, who is likely biting at the bit to jump into the driver’s seat, is still admiring his new ride from the curb because two of his bosses decided it was too much for them to show up to work.
It isn’t like Broward County Public Schools is a well-oiled, finely tuned machine ready for the open road. It is in terms of the schools, school-based staff, custodians and bus drivers; they have to be ready because the students show up on Aug. 21, 2023. Most principals are as busy as ever, hiring teachers and staff, developing and incorporating new curriculum for all grade levels, and overseeing renovations and maintenance projects at their schools. This work must proceed in a determined and professional manner regardless of the dysfunction of the group of elected, and in some instances, governor-appointed board members whose minimum job should at least be to show up — not every day, but at least on the days when they commit in advance to do so, like when they schedule officially noticed meetings for themselves.
Rest assured, the schools will be ready for business in late August, because the education professionals are already totally engaged and fully functional under Smiley’s leadership. They can’t wait for School Board members to show up to work, nor can the acting superintendent and her staff. When Licata finally gets the keys, he will be jumping into a vehicle already headed down the road. And like his predecessors, he may not want to wait for direction from his bosses, some of whom have enough trouble finding the board room on meeting days.
Keith Bromery, the former communications director for Broward County Public Schools, retired more than five years ago and became a substitute and eventually a classroom teacher for the school district.
