Tough assignment for Broward schools: Sell new tax

Torey Alston is not Vickie Cartwright’s biggest problem.

On Sunday, the Broward County school superintendent responded in the Sun Sentinel to a commentary by the county commissioner. Alston asked voters to reject the district’s proposed property tax on the Aug. 23 primary ballot.

Like all counties, Broward levies a property tax to finance the school district. In 2018, voters approved an additional tax — amounting to $250 on a home assessed at $500,000 — for operating expenses. As Cartwright noted, the money pays for police officers and mental-health professionals. It also finances salary supplements for teachers, bus drivers and custodians.

The August proposal seeks to double that tax. Cartwright is correct that the district needs the money. Among other things, when the Legislature — after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting — ordered districts to have more officers in schools, Tallahassee didn’t provide enough money for them.

Alston is a short-timer. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to fill the District 9 seat on the ballot this year. Alston doesn’t live in the district and he hasn’t filed to run. He’s also a Republican in the state’s most Democratic county. So despite her response, Cartwright probably could afford to ignore Alston. But she can’t ignore reality.

On Sunday, the Sun Sentinel reported that two-thirds of elevators in Broward schools lacked certificates of occupancy as of April 30. Lack of this basic need falls especially hard on disabled students. An advocate for them called it “wholesale neglect.”

When the school board hired Cartwright, she vowed to break from the mismanagement and secrecy that characterized the administration of Robert Runcie.

Cartwright became interim superintendent last August. She got the permanent job in February. Did the culture change?

Not yet. The district began scheduling elevator inspections only after Sun Sentinel reporters began asking in January. This year, the paper reported, almost all have been inspected. Last year, it was one-third.

That culture is one hard reality. The other is how things have changed since 2018.

Four years ago, inflation wasn’t a problem. Four years ago, voters didn’t have pandemic fatigue, which has made many of them angry at government. Four years ago, Florida’s governor wasn’t accusing — however falsely — school districts as being hostile to parents and “sexualizing” children.

With voters possibly less reluctant to approve taxes, Cartwright must show that the district can spend the public’s money as the public intended. In her article, Cartwright cited a “third-party audit” finding that money from the 2018 referendum has been spent properly. That still leaves the construction department.

Cartwright skirted that topic. The bond program, she said, “experienced implementation delays at the onset of the program. However, the district has hired a new program manager and is looking for a new district leader to oversee the program.”

Looking for a leader? Still? Here’s a suggestion:

Hire someone from Palm

Beach County. According to a citizen review committee, the district spent 99% of the money from a 2004 construction bond as advertised. Schools financed with the 2016 one-cent sales tax surcharge consistently come in on time and on budget.

Many Florida counties have school tax proposals on the ballot. Hostility could run high. By late August, Alston’s criticism may seem tame.