DeSantis and grand jury: Good politics may bring good policy
From a political standpoint, Gov. Ron DeSantis acted shrewdly last week in seeking a statewide grand jury to investigate school safety.
By appearing with families of Marjory Stoneman Douglas victims one day before the one-year commemoration, DeSantis showed solidarity but kept the main focus off himself. If the Florida Supreme Court accepts his petition for the grand jury – which seems likely – DeSantis can keep the pressure where it belongs.
A showboating governor might have tried to suspend Broward County School Superintendent Robert Runcie or his loyalists on the school board. Either action, however, would have been problematic.
As DeSantis acknowledged, he probably can’t suspend Runcie. Governors can suspend or remove local elected officials. Runcie is appointed. So DeSantis would have faced a legal fight.
Even if DeSantis prevailed, Runcie could appeal any discipline to the Florida Senate. Because Runcie is African-American, a hearing would have featured racial politics. Business groups – a key Republican constituency – continue to back the superintendent. Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, surely would have regarded any Runcie hearing as a major distraction during the 60-day legislative session that begins March 5.
Though DeSantis could have disciplined school board members, what grounds for suspension or removal could he have cited? No one has alleged criminal behavior, so there’s no “malfeasance.” The other main criterion, “misfeasance,” could apply to bad decisions. Under that standard, however, governors would be suspending local officials every week.
Overreach also could have made DeSantis look arrogant. Three of Runcie’s school board supporters won reelection last year after Parkland-dominated campaigns. Donna Korn defeated Ryan Petty, whose daughter was a Stoneman Douglas victim, by 20 points. Nora Rupert got nearly 60 percent in a three-way race.
So the grand jury allows DeSantis to do something without doing it directly. The work will fall to Statewide Prosecutor Nicholas Cox, his team and, ultimately, to the 18 grand jurors. Though Browardbased, the grand jury will examine school security in other counties. That’s how the statewide prosecutor can be involved.
DeSantis simply can wait for the grand jury’s report. Meanwhile, Runcie, the school board and the district’s attorney, Barbara Myrick, face more months of inquiry after thinking that they were past all the questions after the special commission investigating the Parkland shooting finished its work. And at this rate, they are making DeSantis’ case for him.
The latest of many examples came last week. The Sun Sentinel reported that in 2013 Runcie had rejected the idea of a special taxing district to provide $55 million for school security. Broward legislators proposed the district after the Sandy Hook School shooting.
Whatever the merits of the idea, the key point is that Runcie claimed to have his own safety plan that he could implement faster. Yet the Parkland commission found that the district had failed to spend money on security improvements and hadn’t required safety drills that might have saved lives at Stoneman Douglas. Also last week, the board approved Runcie’s choice to be the district’s new chief of security. Runcie proposed no other candidates. For a district that has tried to keep every bit of damaging news from the public, Runcie chose someone whose work at Google included investigating internal leaks.
Even DeSantis’ announcement didn’t rouse Runcie and others from their state of denial.
“I agree with Gov. DeSantis,” Runcie said, “for wanting to know how (emphasis mine) school districts in Florida manage money and security issues that impact school safety.”
Said Korn: “I think a grand jury report will help to identify and delineate the full scope of the work we’ve been doing and continue to do.”
It’s hard to tell what the grand jury might turn up. Even with subpoena power, indictments seem unlikely. The Parkland tragedy seems more about incompetence than corruption.Yet as the Sun Sentinel shows in its Pulitzer-worthy reporting, there remains more to learn about the Broward County School District’s actions 3 and lack of them — before the Stoneman Douglas shooting and its attempts to hide the truth from the public.
To me, there’s a strong case for firing Runcie and an overwhelming case for firing Myrick. Which means there’s a strong case that the board majority has failed to hold Runcie and Myrick accountable. When the grand jury finishes, DeSantis still may get the result he wants.
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