Growing the Voices of Our Future
The Westside Gazette Newspaper is honored to feature these editorial contributions made by local students.
Governor Ron DeSantis removed Broward School Board Members Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray, and Laurie Rich Levinson from office after the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury recommended that they be removed due to incompetence, neglect of duty, and abuse of authority. Even four years after the events of February 14, 2018, the Grand Jury’s final report found that a safety-related alarm at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School “was and is such a low priority that it remains uninstalled at multiple schools,” and “students continue to be educated in unsafe, aging, decrepit, moldy buildings that were supposed to have been renovated years ago.” The Grand Jury was tasked with investigating four issues, including whether public entities and school officials committed fraud and deception by mismanaging school safety funds. The statewide grand jury concluded in its final report that these board members mismanaged the SMART Program, a multimillion-dollar bond specifically solicited for school safety and renovation initiatives. The Jury also discovered that the Board was aware of serious problems with the SMART Program. In its final report, the Statewide Grand Jury recommended that four current school board members be removed from office.
Submitted By Layla Davidson
