Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday strongly criticized Broward County Public Schools, calling the district a “laundry list of failures” and suggesting that state intervention, including potential receivership, may be necessary to address persistent issues.
“Honestly, it’s been a disaster,” DeSantis said during a news conference at Broward College in Davie. “It is really run more to benefit the entrenched interests, particularly the school unions, rather than the parents and the students.”
The governor, visiting to highlight progress in Florida’s property insurance market, shifted focus to the district’s operational struggles. He noted that reform efforts have repeatedly run into obstacles. “But there’s a handful of spots around the state where, you know, maybe thrusting some of these entities into receivership may be the best way going forward. I think you could work things out pretty quickly, but I tell you it’s tough. It’s been really tough. And when people want to reform, you end up having, running into a brick wall. It’s been very difficult,” he said.
Broward schools have seen enrollment drop by around 9,000 students in the last year. The district is working to close a near $100 million budget gap, implementing a hiring freeze, redeploying staff to cover teacher absences, and considering school closures.
School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi defended the district’s current leadership. “I think the governor was referring to the old Broward Schools; I want to talk about the new Broward Schools. We are a back-to-back ‘A’-rated school district by the state’s own metrics. We have no ‘D’ or ‘F’ schools for the first time ever. I would love to invite the governor to walk through schools with me, to see our students thriving, to see our teachers working hard to deliver academic results for our students,” Leonardi said.
Adding to the scrutiny, School Board Member Adam Cervera is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday, January 13, to highlight what he describes as systemic financial and oversight failures within the district. Cervera pointed to controversies, including a $2.6 million off-site lease for staff despite dozens of underutilized campuses, as well as a troubled multimillion-dollar procurement process involving roughly $1.2 billion in projects under the district’s SMART Bond program. He also criticized the misallocation of voter-approved teacher referendum funds, with hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for classroom educators allegedly diverted to high-ranking administrators.
“These problems are not isolated; they reflect a pattern of long-standing financial mismanagement while our District is cutting programs, freezing hiring, and considering closing schools,” Cervera said.
“Our students, parents, and teachers deserve better than this. Taxpayers deserve better than this. Broward families expect transparency and accountability, not waste.”
