EMBARGOED UNTIL APRIL 10TH AT 5 PM

Kenneth Preston 

An Investigation Into Broward County’s

School Board & Superintendent
March 20th, 2018 

Motivation 
My name is Kenneth Preston. I'm a 19-year-old Broward County student who has been
working trying to uncover factors and individuals who share blame in the tragedy at Stoneman
Douglas. Over the past month, I have learned the names and stories of all the victims. Their stories,
along with the incredible strides made by the families to bring change, have compelled me to
dedicate every ounce of energy and time to bring injustices to light. I’m not with an organization
and I have no agenda whatsoever other than holding government officials responsible for their
actions.

After weeks of research, searching through thousands of pages of government documents, and
speaking with dozens of officials, I have come to the conclusion that Superintendent Runcie and
members of the school board have failed at their essential role in keeping our students safe.
Whether that’s because of incompetence or the incentive of federal dollars is for you to decide
based on the evidence provided below.

Ultimately, no matter what laws pass, the extent, or how infrequent these shootings become, if
the people who were complicit in facilitating an environment in which something like this could
occur don't face consequences, then there is no justice.

Absolutely everything that I’ve said as a part of my research has been meticulously sourced. In
fact, the majority of the statistics that I have cited are from the Broward School Board and relevant
agencies directly. If you find anything that isn’t sourced, feel free to contact me with the contact info
listed above and I will provide one.

Plan 
● On April 10th, I plan to speak at the Broward School Board Operational Meeting (all Board
members and Robert Runcie attend) with Stoneman students, families affected, and former
Broward officials to present the evidence below.

 
 
 

● We will speak to members on the School Board to get a vote on parts of the Promise
Program and Behavior Intervention Program by adding it to the next School Board meeting
agenda. Those alterations are listed under the “Goals” section.
● Immediately after, there will be a press conference outside of the School Board Building to
outline our concerns to the public.

Goals 
● A formal investigation into potential misconduct into the School Board, Broward officials,
and Robert Runcie.
● To reform Promise Program program, Behavior Intervention Program, and discipline matrix
to exclude violent offenders from eligibility.
● Setting up town halls with our local School Board members in their respective districts in
order to allow the public an opportunity to voice their concerns and inquire about reforms
that can be made in regards to school safety.

Experts and Witnesses I’ve Consulted With (Does Not Indicate Support of 
Allegations) 
 
Michael Marchetti
● Former Special Assistant to Superintendent Robert Runcie
● Miami-Dade County Public Schools Maintenance Supervisor (1989-1998)

Wolfgang Halbig
● Executive Director of the National Institute for School and Workplace Safety 1999-2004
● National School and Workplace Safety Consultant 1995 - current
● Lake County Public Schools Director of Risk Management, 2005 – 2009
● Seminole County Public School’s Director of Safety and Security, 1995-1999
● Former assistant Principal of Lake Mary High School, Lyman High School, and Sanford
Middle School
● Dean of Students, Lake Brantley High School, 1985-1990
● Vanguard High School, Teacher/Coach, 1975-1983

Robert Nave
● Vice President of Research at Florida Taxwatch

Max Eden
● Senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute
● Former Program Manager of the Education Policy Studies Department at the American
Enterprise Institute
● Has been published in Journal of School Choice, Encyclopedia of Education Economics and
Finance, Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, National Review, Claremont Review
of Books, and The Weekly Standard.
● Testified before the House Judiciary Committee on School Violence

 
 
 

Nora Rupert
● Current Chair of the Broward School Board

Anna Fusco
● President of the Broward County Teachers Union
● Has agreed to the testify to the coverup of abuse of teachers and students

Former BSO Deputy​ (name withheld)

● Deputy and School Resource Officer with Broward Sheriff's Office for several decades

Dan Lewis
● Part of the groundbreaking Federal CCC Litigation resulting in a 2000 settlement
establishing the equitable allocation of resources for all public schools
● Past multi-year member of the School Board’s Consultant’s review committee and past chair
● Past multi-year member of the School Board’s Audit Committee
● 3-time member of the School Board's Diversity Committee, and past chair
● Elected Miramar City Commissioner for 8 years, Serving as Vice-Mayor and Treasurer
● Broward County Growth Management advisory committee, Chair
● Broward County Management & Efficiency Study Committee, Chair
● Broward County Charter Review Committee, Chair

Robert. W Sutton
● Teacher with Broward Public Schools for over 21 years.
● Former Chairman of the Broward Republican Executive Committee

Juliette Hibbs
● Former teacher with Broward Public Schools for over a decade.
● Leader of a campaign of teachers that forced the School Board to investigate claims of rape
at Deerfield Beach High.

Main Focus of the Investigation 

● The mismanagement of $104,325,821 specifically designated for school safety as part of the
Broward Schools 2014 Bond Appropriation
● The Promise Program/Behavior Intervention Program and their effect on school safety

School Safety Funding/Money Mismanagement 

In 2010, an independent statewide Grand Jury created by former Governor Charlie Christ was
tasked with investigating the Broward County School Board for corruption [​1​]. ​It was the third
Grand Jury investigating the school board since 1997. In 2011, the Grand Jury came back with a
ruling that found extreme money mismanagement and corruption by school board officials. [​2​]
They found that the culture of corruption in the School Board ran so deep that even replacing the
Board members wouldn't help, so ​they suggested the Broward School board be dissolved
entirely​: "But for the Constitutional mandate that requires an elected School Board for each

 
 
 

District, our first and foremost recommendation would have been to abolish the Broward County
School Board altogether." [​3]​ Aside from that, they listed 21 recommendations for the Broward
School Board including allowing the district to vote on the Superintendent, preventing board
members from selecting of contractors, and creating an independent office of IG to monitor the
board. [​2​] ​The current school board has ignored almost all of those measures​.

Ignoring the recommendations of the Grand Jury, the School Board selected Robert Runcie
without public approval, to become the new Superintendent in hopes he would bring newfound
transparency and his federal connections to the district. Prior to this, Runcie was hired by Obama’s
future Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to be his Chief Information Officer at Chicago Public
Schools. ​Mr. Runcie was demoted from his position at CPS for undisclosed reasons just three
months before becoming Broward’s Superintendent in 2011.​ [​4​]

Once here, Runcie has taken actions that can be interpreted as less than transparent. Almost
immediately, he proposed cutting the number of publicly accessible school board meetings in half.
The bulk of the public's frustration with Runcie's transparency, however, has to do with the
allocation and spending of funds meant for Broward Public Schools. In recent weeks,
Superintendent Runcie has gone on a media crusade insisting that the solution to school safety
concerns is more money. [​5​] In a letter to Governor Scott, Runcie criticized the increased safety
funding as “significantly inadequate.” [​6​] ​What Superintendent Runcie fails to mention,
however, is that he's had access to nearly $100,000,000 designated specifically for school
safety for years as part of a 2014 Bond Appropriation.

In 2014, Runcie successfully convinced Broward residents to vote on $800 million in bonds for
Broward County Public Schools to invest back into the schools. [​7​] According to The Qualification
Selection Evaluation Committee (QSEC), an anti-corruption measure, there should be a committee
of 11 people, five of whom are members from the public, that would decide what companies were
given lucrative contracts to manage that $800,000,000 in voter-approved projects. ​Just a year
later, Superintendent Runcie, who was tasked with bringing transparency to the board,
moved to bypass those anti-corruption measures by removing members of the public from
voting on who received the contracts. ​[​8​] School Board member Robin Bartleman opposed
removing the public from the decisions saying, "it's going to be an issue," She went on to say: "Stuff
like this snowballs…Things like this get out of control. I've seen it before." [​9​]

Robin Bartleman was right. Three years later, the program has been fraught with delays, [​10​]
Robert Runcie’s former special assistant revealed contracts were being awarded unfairly, [​11​] and
cost estimates for projects that are nowhere near completion are booming with as much as 57%. ​As
part of the program, $104,325,821 was designated specifically for school safety​. [​12​] ​Of that
money, only $5,584,512 (roughly 5.3%) has been spent since its passage. ​[​13​] ​If the school
safety money continues to be doled out at the current rate of 1.76% spent per year, Broward Public

 
 
 

Schools will not see the entirety of that safety money for another 53 years, or the year 2,071.
Superintendent Runcie called an article referencing this report “fake news” and
recommended anyone interested in facts should look to Florida TaxWatch, [​14​] an
independent organization tasked with overseeing the distribution of the money. I reached
out to Florida Taxwatch, and Vice President of Research Robert Nave has told me that my
numbers are correct. ​[​15​] And while the Superintendent might blame red tape and contracting
issues for the delays, his former Special Assistant Michael Marchetti, says the blame lies squarely on
Runcie’s shoulders: “He [Superintendent Runcie] can cut through all that red tape. He could’ve
made things happen if he wanted to.”

The School Board’s failure to provide adequate funding for school safety comes as no surprise
to Broward Sheriff’s Union President Jeff Bell, who said this to Laura Ingraham: “Some of the fault I
put on the Broward County school board. ​For years they know that the schools have been soft
targets. They claim that they want to have better police presence inside the schools and they
want tougher security, but yet they do not want to cough up the money to pay for that better
security​ and fortify their schools and have better designs, they don't want that.” [​16​]

Robert Runcie and program managers insist that the program is on track, but in ​a report by
Florida TaxWatch, the organization the Superintendent referred us to, has criticized Runcie
and the District's handling of the bond money saying, “The public has every right to know which
school projects are delayed and the reasons for the delay, as well as which school projects are
over-budget,” as well as saying that despite their recommendations, “the district fails to identify
those projects likely to be delayed and those projects that are likely to require additional funding.”
[​17​]

Promise Program/Behavior Intervention Program 

  In July of 2011, Robert Runcie’s former boss and now Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan,
launched the Supportive School Discipline Initiative meant to “end the school-to-prison pipeline” in
an effort to combat the disproportionate number of minority students being arrested. [​18​] As part
of that Initiative, it was required that any district applying for a part of the $4.35 billion in “Race to
the Top” money (a federal grant competition Broward had received $37.4 million from a few years
prior) [​19​] must analyze and address their disproportionate student discipline/arrest rates. [​20​] In
March of 2013, the Department of Education listed Broward County as one of those counties with
“disproportionate discipline rates.” [​21​] Months later, Robert Runcie and the Broward School Board
applied and become finalists for the “Race to the Top” grant [​22​] after promising their intent to
have an “evaluation of proposed indicators around attendance, suspensions, and arrests and
promoting school-wide, positive behavior interventions.​” [​23​]

 
 
 

Soon after, Superintendent Robert Runcie, the School Board, and the Sheriff’s office created
“Promise”, a program intended to address the “school-to-prison pipeline” by outlining 13
misdemeanors that formerly would have been referred to law enforcement, but are now dealt by
administrators instead. [​24​] Those misdemeanors include harassment, fighting, assault, and threats
- ​all of which Nikolas Cruz was reported for, but never arrested​. [​25​] Robert Runcie claims the
shooter never benefited from the program because he was never formally enrolled in the Promise
Program. Broward Schools released a statement saying, "the District has no record of Nikolas Cruz
committing a PROMISE-eligible infraction or being assigned the PROMISE while in high school."
However, Jeff Bell, President of the Broward Sheriff's Union and supporter of the Promise Program
says, "There's no documented report that he was ever enrolled into the PROMISE Program. ​But
that doesn’t mean he wasn’t confronted with something and just let go​.” [​26​] The District’s
document on the Promise Program and disciplinary reform would support Bell’s statement, listing a
number of possible disciplinary actions that can be taken instead at the administration’s discretion.
[​27​] So while the Superintendent claims that Cruz has no record of Promise-eligible infractions, the
evidence points to the opposite. In April of 2016 Dana Craig reported Cruz to the school for threats
against her, on January 19th the next year, Stoneman Douglas disciplinary records show Cruz was
reported for a low-level assault, and in September of 2017 he was suspended for fighting [​25​] - all
three of these infractions are covered under the Promise Program and current discipline matrix.
[​24​]

Within a matter of years, the Promise Program took Broward County's student arrest rate
from the highest in the state, to one of the lowest. The number of school-related misdemeanor
arrests dropped from 757 in 2011-2012 to 166 in 2015-2016, ​that's a 78% drop in arrests over a
five-year span​. [​28​] While Superintendent Runcie insists the program is only to prevent students
from being jailed for “minor crimes”, [​29​] the agreement Mr. Runcie and Scott Israel created and
signed does not require law enforcement to arrest students for felonies but instead says "​officers
may consider placing the student under arrest​.” [​30​] In fact, the current discipline matrix
doesn't make "consultation to law enforcement" mandatory or serious crimes such as high-level
assault, rape, and armed robbery. Instead, it lists it as one of many options at the discretion of the
school administration. [​27​] A retired Deputy of the Broward Sheriff's Office with decades of
experience with the BSO and as a School Resource Officer told me (with verification but on the
condition of anonymity) about an instance in which SROs were instructed not to arrest certain
felonies. "About… let's say two years ago, during a meeting with SROs at the Public Safety Building a
woman with Broward Schools or the School Board came at the direction of Colonel Pollock, and ​we
were instructed not to arrest for certain felonies in addition to the misdemeanors covered
by Promise​.” In a later conversation, the Deputy confirmed that the identity of that woman is
Michaelle Pope, Executive Director of Student Support Initiatives Broward County Public Schools,
who are tasked with overseeing BCPS discipline. The program’s stats, presented by Superintendent

 
 
 

Runcie himself, suggests that the Deputy’s claim is true. ​On the Promise Program website, they
use a 33% drop over a three year period in school-related felony arrest rates as an example
of the program's success​. [​31​]

In 2014, while both misdemeanor and felony arrest rates plummeted, Superintendent Runcie
also directed the school system to funnel incarcerated students back into the school system as part
of various “re-engagement” programs. One such program is the Behavior Intervention Program, the
purpose of which is to help “acquire the necessary skills to enable them to optimally function in the
traditional school setting.” ​According to the Broward School Services website, ​students
convicted of serious crimes such as “rape, murder, attempted murder, sexual battery, or
firearm related activity” are given the possibility of entering back into the traditional school
system as part of the program​. [​32​] One year after the implementation of the Promise Program,
district officials were instructed to work with county prosecutors and judges to return incarcerated
students back into traditional schools, a deviation from the typical policy of allowing incarcerated
juveniles to continue to study in jail. Over the course of the next two years, nearly 1,000
incarcerated students were released and returned to their area schools. [​33​] On December 10th,
2014 at the 17th Judicial Circuit Juvenile Justice Circuit Advisory Board Meeting, Cassandra Evans,
Broward County’s chief juvenile probation officer acknowledged the danger in this: “the
department is aware that this population is highly at-risk of reoffending within the first 45-days.”
[​34​]

The aforementioned veteran BSO Deputy and SRO had this to say about reintegration
programs: “I’m sorry to say, but ​we all knew some sort of tragedy like this was going to happen
in Broward​. You can’t just stop arresting kids and send kids straight from juvie back into schools
without expecting something like this. As officers, our hands were tied... the decisions were political
ones, not well researched or backed by evidence, just follow the money. If they really wanted to
know what worked, they would’ve asked us the officers.” As for the money trail, he points to the
Promise Program. While no one can definitely say whether or not safety was sacrificed for federal
dollars, we learned from federal records that the program was used as a factor when applying to
receive a federal grant. Chief School Performance & Accountability Officer Valerie Wanza, who
reports directly to the Superintendent, listed “the successful implementation of the PROMISE
Program, the district’s systemic initiative to end the schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline” as an
example of Broward’s leadership in an application for a federal grant ​that Superintendent
Robert Runcie filed and signed​. [​35​] The Department of Education, run by Robert Runcie’s friend
and former boss, Arne Duncan, approved the application and awarded Broward with a hefty $54.3
million as part of a Teacher Incentive Grant (TIF). [​36​]

Conclusion 

 
 
 

Without knowing Superintendent Runcie's motives for taking the actions he did, it's nearly
impossible to say why the money wasn't spent and why such lax disciplinary policies were
instituted. What is clear is that the Superintendent failed to take the appropriate security
precautions. He has not at any point after the tragedy at MSD acknowledged the mismanagement of
school safety funds, indicated any sort of intention to reform the way the Board functions or
assumed any responsibility for the systematic failures that occurred in failing to properly deal with
Nikolas Cruz. The actions and evidence described warrant an independent investigation into the
conduct of the Board and Superintendent. In addition to this, the current discipline matrix and
reform programs need be to reformed ensure that there is no tolerance for violent crimes in
Broward County Schools.

*​For the sake of transparency, it's worth mentioning that a piece of the article the Superintendent called "fake" 
listed our previous findings of $4,673,508 spent, a less than 1% difference (in terms of budget spent) from the 
numbers that Florida TaxWatch confirmed. Even though statistically insignificant, a correction has been 
requested. 
 

Sources 
1) http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/sources-crist-grand-jury-probing-broward-school-board-6440904 
2) http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/02/20/state-grand-jury-blast-broward-school-incompetence-inefficiency-notter-
btu-ethics/ 
3) https://cbsmiami.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/state-grand-jury-report.pdf 
4) http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=2607 
5) http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article205212554.html 
6) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-school-funding-20180314-story.html 
7) https://www.local10.com/news/florida/broward/voters-approve-800-million-in-bonds-for-broward-public-school
s- 
8) http://www.floridabulldog.org/2015/05/broward-school-board-backs-runcie-on-keeping-public-off-selection-co
mmittee/ 
9) http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article22724217.html 
10) http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/fl-broward-school-bond-errors-delays-20170824-story.html 
11) http://www.floridabulldog.org/2015/03/broward-school-boards-budding-bid-rigging-scandal-takes-a-twist/ 
12) Page 461 of PDF ​http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/boc/QuarterlyReports/FY18_Q2BOCReport.pdf#page=1 
13) Expenditure Summary (457), Financially Active Projects (463), Completed and Meets Standard Projects 
Summary Schedule (511). Remaining Projects (605): 
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/boc/QuarterlyReports/FY18_Q2BOCReport.pdf#page=1 
14) https://twitter.com/RobertwRuncie/status/978891911439310848 
15) https://drive.google.com/file/d/19igi_BSsNwPjXtix7G_8XwDOket6btWS/view?usp=sharing  
16) http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2018/02/23/report-four-deputies-took-cover-during-florida-shooting.html 
17) http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/fl-sb-broward-bond-committee-report-20170227-story.htm 
18) https://blog.ed.gov/2011/07/ending-the-school-to-prison-pipeline/ 
19) https://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/tag/race-to-the-top/  
20) “Integration into Federal Grant making” (Page 4) 
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/appendix-3-overview.pdf 

 
 
 

21) https://ocrdata.ed.gov/Page?t=d&eid=31597&syk=7&pid=2269 
22) https://www.local10.com/news/florida/broward/broward-public-schools-selected-as-400m-grant-finalist 
23) Competitive Preference Priority Reviewer Comments (Page 27) 
https://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/2013/theschoolboardofbrowardcountyfl.pdf 
24) http://expulsions.heraldtribune.com/Chapter/4 
25) https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/timeline-parkland-shooter-nikolas-cruz/?utm_term=.f
d70d9699a74 
26) http://sunshinestatenews.com/story/progressive-promise-program-still-issue-making-parkland-tragedy 
27) Pages 73 and 74 (old matrix), and pages 87 and 89 (new matrix) 
https://www.browardprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SY-2016-Eliminating-School-to-Prison-Pipeli
ne-rev-3-5-18-315pm.pdf 
28) http://www.margatenews.net/13059/312031/a/juvenile-school-arrests 
29) http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-runcie-i
nterview-20180226-story.html 
30) Page 7, Step 7 
https://www.browardprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fully-Executed-Collaborative-Agreement.pdf 
31) PDF Page 220, Document Page 219 
https://www.browardprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SY-2016-Eliminating-School-to-Prison-Pipeli
ne-rev-3-5-18-315pm.pdf 
32) Returning From Residential Juvenile Justice Programs (Page 5) 
http://browardstudentservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BIC_Handbook_2017_18.pdf 
33) https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/03/16/broward_countys_jail-to-classroom_pipeline.html 
34) Page 5 of Document under “Judge Williams” 
http://www.djj.state.fl.us/docs/17/17th-circuit-advisory-board-meeting-minutes--december-10-2014.docx?sfvrsn=
6 
35) Page 103, Bullet 3 ​https://www2.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/fy16/broward.pdf 
36) http://browardschools.com/News-And-Events/News/BCPS-Awarded-$53-8-Million-Grant-from-the-U-S-Dep#.
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