A Message From The Publisher
By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
I felt dirty and smelly, like I had been working for the old ABC septic tank cleaning company after reading the two letters, one from Anna Fusco of the Broward Teachers Union (BTU) and one from Lisa Maxwell of Broward Principals and Assistants Association (BPAA).
To wade through the minutiae in those letters is like a Tale of Two Unions, going back and forth as if you were at a tennis match between Serena and Venus Williams.
I have been writing about the Broward School Board for some time, and lately I have been wanting to cover some other worthy news. Not even the mudslinging in local politics, nothing seems to top the soap opera drama that permeates this school district. They say the truth is stranger than fiction and when it comes to SBBC, I wholeheartedly agree. If I had not verified every word, my coverage would be more likened to a gossip column than a news story and editorial.
I almost feel like Chris Rock being slapped by Wil Smith – SHOCKED! It’s like I’m the comedian on stage and want to be done with this set, but there are two people sitting up front dressed in matching clown suits, wearing the worst wigs they can find, with mile long eyelashes that reach out and tug on my pant leg to keep me on stage by giving me the materials. There’s just too much material to call it a night. I must keep going.
Let’s take a look at what brought to a head like a pimple ready to pop: A BTU executive board member, Kenny Minchew trolled members of BPAA at their administrative retreat a couple weeks ago. Minchew showed up at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in disguise and was caught taking pictures of administrators and their family members, some of them minor children. The BPAA tweeted his picture and a few choice words for the BTU. The BTU struck back by tipping off the Sun Sentinel and a few other news outlets (not the Westside Gazette) about the school district paying for administrator’s hotel costs to attend the BPAA professional development sponsored weekend.
Lisa Maxwell was reached for comments, and she explained that this was not a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, and it is reasonable for school administrators to put in for reimbursement. But, in grand fashion, when asked for a comment by the media, school board members sold out their lowly school administrators.
One of the Blind Nine Board members, Nora Rupert, who attended the retreat in Naples, was in true form, blind to the fact that the district pays for hotels. Sara Leonardi expressed blind outrage in her comments and said it was not a good look because the school district is asking for the public to pass the referendum. These Blind Nine Board members love to act like they don’t know what is going on right under their noses. Well, if they don’t know, they should know and thus, should be voted OUT. In the words of The Notorious B.I.G., “If you don’t know now you know”.
You still with me? It gets juicer.
After colluding with several news media to embarrass the BPAA, Fusco writes a letter to Maxwell and copies the Super and the Blind Nine Board members. Her letter starts with “I am making one more attempt to appeal to your organization’s commitment to public education. I call upon you to stop your unwarranted and unproductive attacks against the BTU and educators.” How do those two sentences go together?
Fusco continues her letter and refers to Maxwell as “divisive,” accusing her of making baseless accusations. She further accuses Maxwell of creating a “negative and deceitful narrative” that discourages voters from supporting the referendum. (Something is amiss here, maybe a strategy of displacing blame if the referendum fails).
Fusco concluded her one-page letter by claiming that she has extended the olive branch in the past, and she encourages Maxwell to join her and the BTU in fighting for working conditions for teachers.
Hello, are you still with me?
It ain’t over til the fat lady sings, and I can feel the choir from a missionary Baptist church getting ready to back up the choir as they begin to sing, “Sooner be over wit the troubles of the world”..
Maxwell, as only Maxwell can do, fires back a four-page rebuttal. If there is a shred of truth to what Maxwell outlined in this letter, the Super and all Nine Blind board members should resign effective immediately. Forget an election. The hell with an investigation. They should all resign immediately.
According to Maxwell, Anna Fusco has been wreaking havoc in the school board for years. Maxwell says she has collected over 1000 pages of complaints against Fusco that have been submitted by over 70 school administrators, as well as parents, students, clerical staff and even teachers. Maxwell claims that Fusco has called school principals names such as “stupid”, “idiot”, “drunks” and “incompetent” in the presence of others.
She describes Fusco’s behavior toward school administrators as “threatening” and “aggressive”. She goes on to accuse Fusco of showing up to schools and “barging past security and into principals’ offices when told that they are in a meeting, and commencing to “scream and yell defamatory comments in front of parents and students”.
Maxwell’s description of Fusco’s behavior gets even better. She says that Fusco tells anyone who will listen that she “owns the Superintendent” and that she will “have their employment terminated.” This statement sounds eerily familiar to the comments I have heard that she told three Black directors who were demoted to principals. It was reported that she told these directors that she would have Cartwright “get rid of bad directors who support bad principals”.
Speaking of “bad principals”, Maxwell goes on to describe Fusco’s behavior at the Broward Hiring Fair that took place a couple weeks ago. According to Maxwell, Fusco pulled prospective teachers out of line who were waiting to be interview and told them, “you do not want to work for ‘that principal’”. With the tremendous shortage of teachers throughout the country and the dismal 50 percent of the BTU teacher membership, it is unfathomable that Fusco thinks this is a good idea.
Of all the things Maxwell claims that Fusco has said and done in her four-page rebuttal letter, the upcoming statement seems to be the worst in a series of negative actions. The Broward School Board scheduled a press conference with the media to educate the public on the referendum. Fusco reportedly did not want the BPAA to be there. Maxwell reports that Fusco went into a tirade and threatened to come out publicly against the referendum if the Board allowed the BPAA to attend the press conference. Wait. What? Do teachers know about this? Would this woman do this or was she using it as a threat to get her way? I am not sure which is worse.
While Fusco claims the Hatfield and McCoy feud between BTU and BPAA is personal and fueled by Lisa Maxwell and the BPAA, Maxwell defines it as being in an “abusive relationship” where Fusco is the abuser who is trying to shift blame to the abused. She makes it clear that it is the BTU and Fusco that are putting the Referendum at risk.
So, I will stop here and let you stretch your neck and catch your breath.
Now that your head is pointed forward and not volleying back and forth, I will interpret who is to blame for this madness. The blame/responsibility rests squarely with Super Cartwright and the Blind Nine Board Members. If they cannot or will not address this Family Feud, and not like a Steve Harvey-cause this ain’t no laughing matter, they cannot be trusted with millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.
Funny how they can comment to the press about $100,000 of money spent on hotels, (which is not a lot of money considering there are over 600 school-based administrators) yet they stay largely silent when the public questions them about hundreds of millions of dollars wasted in construction. It is all smoke and mirrors. It is common for employees, particular middle management, and executive leaders to attend professional learning and development workshops and be paid for through company budget. In fact, my sources tell me that teachers are allowed to travel to conferences each year and are paid up to $1000 for hotels, travel, and meals. How is that different? Do school principals not deserve or need professional development?
The civility policy that the Board has crafted and is bringing forward later this month is a joke. There is already a bullying policy on the books. Use it. But I already reported on how the bullying policy was mishandled when an employee from Cross Creek filed a bullying and harassment complaint against Fusco. A source told me that Mike Walker said it would be unfounded before the first interview. Remember Walker? He was subsequently promoted to a job he didn’t apply for, didn’t interview for, and has no experience in the work. The hits just keep on coming!!!!
I have reported on the abuses exacted on principals, particularly Black females, by the BTU. I have also reported on three Black administrators who were demoted for supporting principals who were targeted by the BTU.
What in the heck is going on in BCPS? Do we need to convene a committee like the January 6 Commission to peel back the layers of abuse and incompetence? We all saw what happened on January 6, and we all wondered why they need a yearlong commission to tell us what we already know. BCPS is in that same boat.
A few things need to happen in the coming weeks and months to stop this runaway train.
Show up to the polls and vote NO on the Next Generation Referendum Renewal. There are some deep flaws with this Referendum. We can fix it and bring it back in 2024. SBBC and the state need to find the money to pay teachers a better salary and not promise bonuses that are not included in the contracts for the duration and fund the statutes they put in place.
Show up to the polls and ensure not one sitting Blind Nine Board member retains her seat. We deserve board members who will see something, damnit say something! Between this mess and grand jury investigations, we need a reprieve from the drama and a fresh start will do us all good.
Put pressure on the new Board members to go back to the drawing board (pun intended). Call the question on this superintendent. Ask principals, teachers, and community their anonymous opinion about how she is doing. Trust me. We all know what the results will be. Once she is gone, the Board must run a clean national search to select a superintendent from a pool of highly qualified candidates.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired, and I need a nap.
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