By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
A criminal jury trial is scheduled to commence on June 9, 2025, at the Broward County Courthouse. Former Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, who joined BCPS in 2011, has pleaded not guilty to the rarely charged but often threatened charge of perjury in an official proceeding, a third-degree felony, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He was arrested on April 22, 2021, by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The first person of African descent to serve as the BCPS Superintendent, Runcie held the position for 10 years and resigned in 2021. Credited for increasing the district’s graduation rates, improving schools districtwide and reaching out to minority communities, Runcie was recognized for his efforts both on the state and national levels. Runcie’s supporters praised him for his successes. Black parents particularly saw him as a role model for their children. It was common for him to show up unannounced at school events, large and small. He was viewed as accessible and easygoing. Many Black students knew him by sight.
He also has been responsive to other issues of concern to Black parents, including setting up programs preventing criminalization and disproportionate punishment of Black students.
Runcie’s position, however, came under intense scrutiny and was consequently in jeopardy following Nikolas Cruz’s deadly shooting, killing 17 people, and injuring 17 others, at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.Cruz, pleaded guilty in October 2023 and is serving multiple life sentences without parole.
After what is now marked as the ‘Parkland Massacre”, several MSD administrators were removed from their offices. At the district level, essentially Parkland students and parents alike called for reform of the school board and the removal of Superintendent Runcie.
On the other side were Runcie, who refused to resign and survived multiple attempts to fire him, and a supportive majority of the Broward County School Board. Runcie later resigned because of threats from Gov. Ron Desantis to remove Runcie’s board supporters because the governor possessed no authority to remove Runcie.
He also had energetic supporters in South Florida, many of whom were Black, including a substantial and politically powerful Afro-Caribbean community that demonstrated a sense of kinship. Runcie was born in Jamaica into an impoverished family before emigrating to the United States. A Harvard University graduate, he was the first member of his family to attend college.
While Runcie had his detractors, including Gov. Ron Desantis, he had tremendous support. Local Black elected politicians, leaders of local Black civil rights organizations, and small local business owners held a press conference in front of K.C. Wright School Board building to publicly support Runcie. A public rally in his support was also held.
Supporters felt that Runcie was a scapegoat who became the personal focus of the anger and frustration of MSD parents and their supporters immediately after the tragedy. Their argument is that Runcie is blamed for the decades-long institutional structures and procedures in place that failed on the day of the MSD murders.
Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein dismissed the grand jury’s 2021 indictment against Runcie, agreeing with defense attorneys that state law only gives it jurisdiction over crimes that occurred in multiple counties. The state appealed and the higher court reversed and remanded. So, here we are.
This is a call to action from me, yours truly, to show up to the courtroom on June 9, 2025, to support former Superintendent Runcie, who is represented by a defense team of Attorneys Johnny L. McCray, Jr., Mike Dutko, and Jeremy Kroll. McCray sees the indictment as a retaliation. McCray said shortly after Runcie’s arrest that “I am confident when the dust settles, that he (Runcie) will be acquitted of this charge, Mr. Runcie is a man of high character”.
