Principal may be suspended for 5 days

The principal of Nova High could face a five-day suspension after a district investigation found the school’s nationally ranked debate program violated numerous district policies.

The Broward County School Board gave initial approval Tuesday for the proposed discipline of John Lacasse, who has led the school since 2000. However, a final decision won’t be made until later. Lacasse is appealing the district’s action, and the School Board will make a final determination after a state judge reviews the case and makes a recommendation.

A district audit found numerous problems with the Nova High debate program district, which was headed by Lisa Miller, who abruptly retired last year. Students were forced to pay fees to participate, a for-profit camp housed at Nova was posing as a school group, debate expenses weren’t accounted for and the school’s tax exempt status was misused, an investigation found.

District officials said Lacasse didn’t adequately supervise Miller.

Lacasse, 56, doesn’t oppose a five-day suspension but believes the district’s complaint makes inaccurate and unfair allegations about him, said Lisa Maxwell, executive director of the Broward Principals and Assistants Association.

The complaint accuses Lacasse of several serious offenses, including incompetence, immorality and willful neglect of duty. He is accused of lying to auditors about his knowledge of a snack shop that was used as a debate fundraiser. Auditors said the shop violated district policies about selling food on campus. Maxwell said the audit never accuses Lacasse of lying.

“He’s willing to accept the five-day suspension. He’s not willing to have on the record that he lied and did other things that never came up in the investigation,” Maxwell said.

School Board members voiced similar concerns, saying Lacasse isn’t incompetent since the school has been consistently A or B rated during his long tenure. And if he failed to properly supervise the debate program, that’s not an issue of immorality, they said.

“It feels like we’re just throwing as much as we can at the window to see what sticks,” School Board member Donna Korn said.

Board member Rosalind Osgood said if the wording in the complaint is accurate, Lacasse deserves stiffer punishment than a five-day suspension.

Board members agreed to the proposed discipline after Superintendent Robert Runcie pledged to soften the language of the district’s complaint.

Miller, the former debate coach, has been the subject of a criminal investigation. Runcie said that’s been turned over to the State Attorney’s Office.

The investigation is also being turned over to the state Department of Education for possible discipline against Miller and Lacasse.

Since the audit, the school has decided to turn over its bookkeeping to the district, rather than doing it in-house. Teachers and booster clubs are undergoing training, officials said. The debate booster club was shut down.