Face Off for the new BCPS Facelift

New School Board members (Seated L-r: Chair Torey Alston - District 2; Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright; Vice Chair Lori Alhadeff District 4; Manuel A. Serrano District 6; Debra Hixon Countywide At-Large Seat 9; Ryan Reiter District 1; Nora Rupert District 7; Daniel P. Foganholi - District 5; Sarah Leonardi District 3; Kevin P. Tynan - Countywide At-Large Seat 8 (The School Board of Broward County, Florida)
Board Chair Torey Alston is flanked by community supporters: Former candidate for District 5, Antonio Burgess; Community activists Dr. Dorsey Miller, New Board Chair Torey Alston,  Clarence McKee, president, McKee Communications and Walter Boyd, owner of Boyd Funeral Home.

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

By now anyone who follows Broward Schools politics knows that Governor Ron DeSantis removed four Board members after a very embarrassing and jaw dropping Grand Jury Report citing incompetence, misfeasance and malfeasance around safety and the $800,000 General Obligation Bond approved by voters in 2016.

Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray and Laurie Rich Levinson have all held their seats for more than a decade. On Friday, August 26, DeSantis ordered the removal of all of them, had their picture removed from the wall and their parking signs hauled off.

No sooner than he ordered their removal, DeSantis named their replacements. Who is replacing them is just as intriguing as the removal, giving hope to some and invoking questions from others. All four were sworn in on Tuesday, August 30, and while it was expected that one of the remaining four Board members would replace ousted Rich Levinson as Board chair, the surprises just kept on rolling in.

The most encouraging prospect is that the Board is now more gender diversified and will eventually have increased Black representation once the District 5 Board member takes office.

So enough with the suspense. Here are the replacements and what we know about them.

Manual A. Serrano, who goes by Manny, is a member of the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors, and CEO and Founder of Clubhouse Private Wealth. Serrano emphasized the importance of teamwork when speaking at swearing in. He says he draws on his teamwork experience as a collegiate baseball player at Florida State University. Serrano replaces Rich Levinson of District 6.

Ryan Reiter is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Director of Government Relations for Kaufman Lynn Construction. His Linkedin account boasts about his legislative and campaign experience, solid understanding of coalition building and ability to strategically plan both short- and long-range goals. Reiter replaces Ann Murray for District 1.

Kevin Tynan is a partner at Richardson and Tynan Law. If his name sounds familiar, it should. Tynan previously served on the Broward County School Board where he was appointed by the then governor because of another Grand Jury investigation into corrupt Broward School Board members. In 2009, Tynan replaced School Board member, Beverly Gallagher who was arrested, convicted, and served time in prison for corruption. Gallagher admitted to accepting $3,000 and $6,000 in cash from construction companies to obtain work with the school board. Tynan has also served on the board of the South Broward Hospital District. Tynan replaces Donna Korn as the countywide, district 8 seat.

Torey Alston has a rich history in Broward county. He is a Blanche Ely Tiger and his presence as Student Advisor on the School Board is likened to that of Raymond Adderly. Alston was a forced to be reckoned with as a student advisor, often speaking with suck conviction and passion that the grown folk in the building sat up and took notice. In 2012, Alston ran to replace the Fantastic Ben Williams for the School Board District 5 seat and was defeated by Rosalind Osgood who maintained the seat until 2020 when she ran for the State Senate race. Osgood was named in the recent Grand Jury Report and cited for incompetence, misfeasance, and malfeasance, but exited the seat before the report was published and Board members removed. Alston is a former Commissioner of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and President of Indelible Solutions. Alston replaces Patricia Good from District 2.

With the removal of former Board Chair Laurie Rich Levinson and vice chair, Donna Korn, the second order of business after the swearing in was electing a Chair and Vice Chair. Rumors circulated early that Nora Rupert would emerge as chair and Lori Alhadeff vice chair. While Alhadeff was nominated as chair, it was quickly voted down by the men and one other. Then, in a surprise coupe, Alston was nominated and voted in as School Board chair in a 5-4 decision foreshadowing the shift of power and what is to come. Lori Alhadeff was voted vice chair. Alhadeff lost her daughter, Alyssa in the Majorie Stone Douglass mass shooting on February 14, 2018.

The meeting could not end peacefully, however, without theatrics from Anna Fusco of the BTU. As only Fusco can do, she approached Alston and spewed her usual bullying unpleasantries to which Alston responded repeatedly that his purpose was twofold: to represent the interests of children and to ensure things are done legally and with integrity. That was not good enough for Fusco, however. After Alston was sworn, it is reported that she approached Alston’s wife and mother in the foyer area to share that moving forward they can expect a tumultuous relationship between her and Board Chair Alston. My money is on Alston.

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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