Sunday, February 24, 2013

NEWS RELEASE: FEBURARY 21, 2013

February 21, 2013

Task force: Outsource part of Broward school bus service
The Broward County schools facilities task force on Wednesday proposed a dramatic alternative to fixing the bleeding transportation department —outsource one of its bus terminals to a private company.  "There's no way for you to know if what you're doing is the best until you have something to compare it to,"Charlotte Greenbarg, vice-chair of the task force, told the school board. She wants the district to pilot the idea with one terminal in order to compare costs and management operations.

Legislation Gives Florida School Districts More Flexibility On Class Sizes
A bill that would change the way schools are penalized for not complying with class size requirements is getting bipartisan support so far in Tallahassee….Georgia Slack, a lobbyist for Broward County Public Schools and a consortium of school boards, said the goal is not to change class size requirements.

Upcoming Allen West appearance sparks complaint
He's out of office, but former Congressman Allen West is still attracting controversy. This time it's over a speech he's scheduled to give Saturday night to one of the Broward School Board's advisory committees. A civic activist who's tangled before with West is outraged, arguing it's the wrong venue for the defeated one-term congressman, best known for his incendiary attacks on President BarackObama and other Democrats.

If Allen West could teach in Broward schools, surely he can speak
You know what's wrong with Allen West giving a talk to a Broward school district advisory group this weekend? Nothing.

Broward schools audit finds security firm overbilled
A private security firm hired to protect Broward school district properties was overbilling for the service, according to an internal audit presented to Broward School Board members Wednesday. The audit documented more than $129,000 in overbilling by Georgia-based U.S. Security Associates, and faulted the district’s “inadequate” oversight of the charges, many of which have been paid.