School district not passing

We need to change how we look at school testing.

Yes, Broward students are in the midst of taking end-ofcourse exams, which replaced theFCAT, which replaced, well, you get the idea.

Students are tested enough. Tested toomuch. We all know that.

So let’s test what’s going on at theBroward School District. Let’s see howit grades out in events, just fromthe past few weeks.

Broward school repairs delayed

Wewere told that the schools in eastern Broward, which have waited years for needed repairs, will have towait longer after problems with the bidding process. Major renovation projects at Stranahan High in Fort Lauderdale, Northeast High in Oakland Park and BlancheEly in Pompano Beach were to begin this summer, part of an $800 million bond approved by voters.

“Theymade promises and promises, and then they’re not fulfilling them. It hurts,” Esther Mizell, a1970 Stranahan High graduate, told the Sun Sentinel.

Let’s see. Broken promises. Schools in dire need of repair. Bond issue repairs delayed.

We’ll generously give the district a D.

Inaction delayed school repairs.

Wewere told district staff failed for over a year to seek bids on nine approved renovation projects. The schools involved will have tomake do with leaky roofs, iffy air conditioners and unusable facilities.

“Iamfurious that our staff and [SuperintendentRobert Runcie] did not have a checkand-balance system to ensure that the projects get done,” school boardmemberRobin Bartleman said.

Hmmm. Bids not sought on approved projects. Students and teachers have to continue in lousy school conditions. Wonder howschool honchoswould feel if they had towork every day in those conditions.

Can’t give the district any better than aD- minus.

State audit finds school district improperly distributed federal dollars.

The Sun Sentinel story said the districtmay have to pay $23 million because of this. Runcie responded by saying the story lacked “sufficient context.” According to a Sentinel editorial, Runcie’s claim that the district would not have to repay a significant amount could not be verified.

We’ll be more than fair here. We’ll grudgingly, for now, give the district an incomplete.

School district police go $2.5 million over budget.

Because of the huge overspending, there will be an audit of the department and a request formore funding.

“We’re going to be put in a position nowwherewe’re going to have to somehowfind money for something where a department has put us into a hole,” school board member Donna Korn said. “I don’t even know howto respond to that.”

Other board members called the situation amess. Some questioned howthe issue had not been detected earlier.

No question about it. The district gets an F.

Overall, it seems like on these issues and others, nobody knowswhoto blame, and there is no accountabilitywhen there are screw-ups.

Meanwhile, the students are taking their tests. Some will pass, somewill fail. But no matter the students’ grades, they won’t result in millions of dollars beingwasted, desperately needed school repairs being delayed, and an $800 million school bond issue not living up to its promises. Nope, those gradeswon’t affect crumbling schools or taxpayers.

Iwishwe could say the same for the Broward school district.

gstein@sunsentinel.com