School board member to run for House

Bartleman seeking seat in largely Democrat area covering southwest Broward County

Robin Bartleman, the longest-serving current member of the Broward School Board, plans to step down in 2020 and run for a seat in the Florida House.

Bartleman, 46, announced Thursday she intends to run in House District 104, a largely Democratic area covering southwest Broward County, including Weston, Pembroke Pines and Southwest Ranches. The seat is now held by Democrat Richard Stark who can’t seek re-election due to term limits.

She said she made the decision Thursday after being encouraged by family, friends and community leaders.

"I’m very excited to use my experience, skills and passion to go to Tallahassee,” she told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I feel I can make a difference in my community. I know I can make a difference in my community.”

A School Board member since 2004, Bartleman was re-elected to her fourth term in 2016. Her seat is up again in August 2020, but since she can’t run for two offices, her entry into the Democratic primary will force her to give up her seat on the board.

A former teacher and assistant principal with Miami-Dade County schools, she also served as a member of the Weston City Council from 2000 to 2004.

Bartleman is a divorced mother of two daughters, one who is in college and one who is a junior at Cypress Bay High in Weston.

In recent years, Bartleman has been one of Superintendent Robert Runcie’s toughest critics. She’s blasted the slow progress of the $800 million bond to fix dilapidated schools as well as his personnel hires and overall leadership. She was one of three members who voted in 2017 against extending his contract through 2023. That contract gave Runcie a $28,000 raise, bringing his salary up to $335,000.

Bartleman also raised concerns about Runcie’s response to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, including his decision not to conduct an internal review of what went wrong until five months later.

“I was under the impression we were looking into the district’s actions immediately following the tragedy and was concerned to hear that the same security staff was in place without any internal investigation occurring,” she wrote in her evaluation of him in October.

But Bartleman said her decision wasn’t caused by any frustration on the board.

“I just think I’m ready to take my fight and passion to the next level,” she said.

Bartleman