Broward County Public Schools

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Best Political Gaffe

Judie Budnick's cursing rant

Fired School Board Building Inspector Wins Appeal

Becky Blackwood won. And it's the public who will pay for the Broward County School Board's stupid and vindictive decision to fire her. It's been a long road back for Blackwood, a former supervisory building inspector who has contended she was removed from her job in retaliation for her blowing th ... More >>

Morning Juice: Robber Has Pawn Problem, Homework Rules Promote Pot Smoking, Hiahleah is Blah, Blah, Blah

Robber Who Got $4 million in Jewelry Probably Got Ripped Off TooThe robber who knocked over a Palm Beach jewelry store on Sunday made off with a cool $4 million in goods. Police released a sketch of the robber, at right, and it turns out he LOOKS LIKE EVERY WHITE GUY I KNOW! Police are looking for l ... More >>

Do You Cut the Colonel Mustard?

Robber Who Got $4 million in Jewelry Probably Got Ripped Off TooThe robber who knocked over a Palm Beach jewelry store on Sunday made off with a cool $4 million in goods. Police released a sketch of the robber, at right, and it turns out he LOOKS LIKE EVERY WHITE GUY I KNOW! Police are looking for l ... More >>

One Way to Skin the FCAT

More Than Wasted Time

Broward School Board Members Who Oversaw Rampant Overspending Just Make Things Worse

More Than Wasted Time

Morning Juice: Dolphins Fumble to Falcons; a New Suspect in Cancer Cluster

​Your Monday in South Florida news:Turnovers killed the Dolphins on opening day. For a team with one of the league's toughest schedules, this game against the Falcons was the closest thing to a gimme. It's going to be a long year. [NFL.com]The Broward County School District is a finalist in a $1 m ... More >>

Animal Rights Foundation Asks Broward Schools to Stop Supporting Circuses

​I can admit it: I really don't know that much about training circus elephants. And I dare say most Juice readers don't either. But there is still something unsettling about seeing videos in which these magnificent beasts are slapped with sticks, shocked with prods, and left with de ... More >>

Morning Juice: Contamination Found in IV Bags, Water Wells and Sheriff's Office

​Here's a look through the headlines on this Tuesday morning.A nurse at Broward General Medical Center used IV bags contaminated with other patients' fluids, exposing some 1,800 patients to risk of disease. [NBCMiami]The H1N1 vaccine shots are coming next week, though there's still no date as to e ... More >>

Morning Juice: Enough With the Broward Corruption -- Give It Arrest!

​The dawn brings a fresh batch of crazy to Broward and Palm Beach:At the risk of sounding like a broken record, more political figures have been arrested, including Ed Portner, running for mayor of Coral Springs Tamarac, for pulling a gun on his daughter Stacy Ritter, the mayor of Broward County. ... More >>

Morning Juice: Adventures in Bad Parenting

Time to get your Monday on. But first, a look back on what made news this past weekend.​Tamarac mayoral candidate Ed Portner gave a short interview to WPLG about why he went over to his daughter Stacy Ritter's home with a gun last week: "I wanted to scare the crap out of her." Mission accomplished ... More >>

Morning Juice: Wexler to Resign; Teens Headed to Jail

​The headlines in South Florida this Wednesday:The latest on the Michael Brewer story is that one of his attackers was angry about a videogame the 15-year-old had borrowed. Just sickening. [CBS4]U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler is leaving Congress. [Miami Herald] Stacy Ritter is contemplating a run for Wex ... More >>

Morning Juice: Which Kraft Gets Paid and Which Kraft Gets to Vote?

​Let's look at what's in the news this morning:Big, big trouble for Broward County School Board member Stephanie Kraft. New Times' Bob Norman has confirmed that Kraft's husband, Mitch, took payments from Prestige Homes to negotiate a deal with the district for the mitigation fees associated with t ... More >>

Morning Juice: Broward School Board Considers Nuclear Fallout; "Smell-a-Vision" Maybe Bad Idea

​The news this morning in South Florida:At last night's Broward County School Board meeting, members discussed a refresher course on ethics. So... like that safety meeting the Soviets had after the meltdown at Chernobyl? [Miami Herald]Crist is going to demand the state review loopholes that allow ... More >>

Morning Juice: A Bloody Mess in Local School Boards

​A tour of South Florida headlines on this Friday morning:The state appears to be question the finances of the state's blood banks, including the local Community Blood Centers, where disgraced Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher landed work with the help of a lobbyist. [Sun-Sentin ... More >>

Butterworth Looking for "Root Cause" of School Board Corruption: Maybe It's the Media?

At about the 2:40 mark of this Sun-Sentinel video, you'll hear Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler complain about the lack of positive media coverage of the Broward County School Board. Then former Attorney General Bob Butterworth plays editor, questioning why the dailies didn't give more coverage to ... More >>

Morning Juice: Rothstein Crawls Back; Broward School Officials Try Blame Game

​It's Wednesday. Here's the local news:A bruising campaign for mayor of Lake Worth will go a few more rounds as Rene Varela didn't quite win enough votes to avoid a runoff with Laurence McNamara. In the Commission races, conservative Scott Maxwell beat Ron Exline and Jo-Ann Golden won reelection. ... More >>

Morning Juice: Old Dolphins Learn New Tricks; Train Barrels Into Car in Fort Lauderdale

​Here's what's churning in Friday's local news cycle:Parents of students at Pioneer Middle School in Cooper City are furious over proposals by the Broward County School District to bus students out of that school to relieve overcrowding. But what are they complaining about? Local 10's Janine Stanw ... More >>

Morning Juice: Rothstein to Be Charged at Last; Fresh Scandal at Broward School District

​Tuesday is shaping up to be a big news day in Broward County.Scott Rothstein is finally going to be charged for his roughly $1 billion Ponzi scheme. But no, we still don't know the juiciest details. [Miami Herald]The trial for Teah Wimberly, the 16-year-old girl who killed a teenaged friend at Di ... More >>

Morning Juice: Federal Prosecutors Now Camping in Broward; Ethics Reform in Palm Beach County

​Let's look at the news on this Wednesday morningA terrifying number of references to "unidentified co-conspirators" in the information filed yesterday by the U.S. Attorney's office against Scott Rothstein. There's little question that he and his friends in the political, banking and legal communi ... More >>

Morning Juice: Dolphins Get Hosed in Tennessee; Gallagher Looks Trial-Bound in Corruption Case

​It's Christmas week. And here's what's in the news in Broward and Palm Beach:The Dolphins staged an amazing comeback yesterday in Tennessee, only to have their inspired effort wrecked by a bullshit call against Greg Camarillo. [NFL.com]Adderley elaborated on his statement last week about Rothstei ... More >>

Morning Juice: Salesman Not Buying FBI's Case; Embattled Palm Beach School Official Stripped of Duty

​Here's what in the local news this morning:Local targets of the FBI corruption sting were apparently unimpressed by the case that was made against them. The same day that former Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher entered a not guilty plea to selling her office, former Miramar Co ... More >>

Morning Juice: Fatal Shooting in Boynton Beach; Rothstein's Conspicuous Consumption

​The news in Broward and Palm Beach this Tuesday morning:A double shooting late last night in Boynton Beach where one man is dead and another is in critical condition. It appears the shooting occurred on the road and that the dead man -- who hasn't been identified -- was driving a gold Lincoln Nav ... More >>

Morning Juice: Another Quake in Haiti; Fins Find a Defensive Mastermind in Denver

​A glance at local headlines this January 20:A 6.0 quake rattled nerves in Port-au-Prince this morning, but there's not much left to destroy in a city where the death toll is at 72,000 and counting. [Miami Herald]The Broward County School District has to trim $47 million from its budget, and a who ... More >>

Morning Juice: Break in 25-Year-old Murder Case in Jupiter; Ethics Panel Driving Hard Bargain in Broward

​Your daily glance at the headlines in South Florida:The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office closed a 25-year-old cold case yesterday with the help of DNA evidence that linked a Fort Myers man to the 1984 murder of Vickie Lynne Long in Jupiter. The suspect, Todd Clayton Campbell, was 22 and lived on the s ... More >>

Numbers of Haitian Students in Browards Schools: 587 and Counting

​As of last Friday, the Broward County School District had 587 new Haitian students -- an increase of 85 since the Sun-Sentinel published its last article a few days earlier. That's far more students than Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County, but then the Broward schools have plenty of room, thanks to ... More >>

Morning Juice: Teen Stabs Mother's Boyfriend in Delray; Broward Schools Pay Millions to Ditch Building Contracts

​The rundown of local news on this Thursday morning:A 16-year-old girl is in jail for stabbing to death her mother's boyfriend, Gilardo Ramos Paz, in the parking lot of a Winn Dixie in Delray Beach. The girl, Berenice Juarez, confessed to police, telling them she didn't approve of the man's relati ... More >>

Morning Juice: John Goodman Jailed; West Palm Stripper Busted for Armed Robbery

​Here's what's news this morning in Broward and Palm Beach:Wellington polo mogul John Goodman is in a Palm Beach County jail this morning, charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter in connection with the February crash that killed 23-year-old Scott Wilson. [Palm Beach Post]Construction ... More >>

Morning Juice: Boynton Family Battles Stingy Insurer; Murder Near West Palm Park

​A rundown of local news items on this Wednesday morning:A Boynton Beach family is devastated by an insurance company's decision to renege on a guarantee that it would pay for the residential treatment of Ryan Crofutt, 25, who needs treatment for brain damage and was prepared to receive therapy at ... More >>

Morning Juice: Prison for Bev Gallagher; Oil Nears Panhandle

​Here's a glance at what's in the local headlines:It's not quite the Miracle on the Hudson, but a small plane made a safe emergency landing in a field just short of the Fort Lauderdale airport's runway. It narrowly missed hitting a home. [WPLG-5]Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher ... More >>

Morning Juice: Feds Bust Seminoles for Spending Habits; Band Teacher Acquitted of Molestation Charges

​A look at what's happening this morning in South Florida:The National Indian Gaming Commission has found that the Seminole Tribe violated gaming laws in giving six tribal members more than their appropriate share of casino proceeds. Money that was supposed to be spent for constructive community p ... More >>

Alleged Holy Water Sprinklers Now Face Criminal Investigation

Flickr: Nutmeg The Puppy​Two Christian teachers at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach have been cleared of wrongdoing by the Broward County School District, whose investigators reportedly found that the two did not sprinkle holy water at an atheist teacher, as was alleged. But interviews con ... More >>

Morning Juice: Investigators Still Circling Broward Schools; Video Shows Tunidors Turning on Each Other

​Your daily spin through the local headlines:Even with Broward County School Board member Beverly Gallagher on her way to prison, there are indications that the investigation has only just begun, as the district's legal office is being asked by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to provide ... More >>

A Dirty Job: Broward School Board Member Ann Murray Offers Poor Residents a Low Wage to Stand at Poll

Photo: Broward County School DistrictAnn Murray​For folks in a low-income section of Hollywood, it's hard to pass up a chance to make $50 -- even if it means standing outside in 95-degree heat for 12 hours holding up a campaign sign. And that, say sources in South Hollywood, is the offer being dan ... More >>

What $9 Million for the West-Klein Race Could Have Bought

Allen West raised $5.5 million to win the race.​The cash poured in from all over the country, as unions, Christian conservatives, Tea Party ideologues, Big Pharma, and Big Oil opened their pockets. With at least $9 million raised in the Ron Klein-Allen West congressional contest, it was one of the ... More >>

Broward School Board Continues Lawyer Fiasco

The Broward County School Board has a bad case of emeritus. You might think that after the stink caused by the Broward County School Board's plan to give outgoing Ed Marko a $266,000 salary to serve as general counsel emeritus (for the unwashed that's pronounced  ih-MEH-ri-tus, not really like ... More >>

Villegas Video, Awarding Incompetence, and Judge Lazarus' Latest Stupid Email

UPDATED: My colleague Lisa Rab obtained this video of Debra Villegas speaking with Plantation police officers about the Melissa Britt Lewis murder. It was taken in December 2009, after the Rothstein Ponzi scheme and the RRA law firm imploded. Make sure and read Rab's post. Villegas d ... More >>

UPDATED: Charges Brought In Ynot Case

​ ​ Ynot with son Max just days prior to his death​ UPDATED: The SAO just announced that it has filed charges in the case of graffiti artist Jonathan "Ynot" Corso. The release: The Broward State Attorney's Office has charged Reynaldo Rodriguez, 32, with vehicular homicide in ... More >>

Grand Jury Report Another Exercise in Futility

When ineffective governments lack the strength or wherewithal to act, there is only one thing left for them to do. They issue reports. After Rick Scott is sworn in as governor tomorrow, grand jury starter Crist will have more time to party​I can't say that the statewide gran ... More >>

Ilene Lieberman Gives Wrong Answer

So Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman won't say why she's gone AWOL from commission meetings, telling the Sun-Sentinel (the WofP, actually) that she is "dealing with some personal matters, and I'm not at liberty to discuss them at the moment." ​Not at liberty? That implies that some ... More >>

Grand Jury Report: School Board Blew Hundreds of Millions of Taxpayers Dollars While In Lobbyists' Pocket

Well, it's finally official. The Broward County School Board wasted hundreds of millions of your dollars while doing the bidding of a select group of contractors and lobbyists. You've been reading about that here for the past five years. Now the statewide grand jury has found the same thing.&n ... More >>

Gay, Bi, and Transgendered Students Get Protection From Bullying in Broward County

If Hogwarts were in Broward, Harry would be safe to express himself.​If RuPaul were still in high school, guarantee he'd want to be in Broward County -- now Florida's largest school district has added "gender identity and expression" to its nondiscrimination policy.With its unanimous vote Tue ... More >>

Recall Rick Scott Protest Hits Downtown

Anti-Rick Scott protester at federal courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale yesterday. Activist Tammy Lettieri estimates that 1,300 people showed up for the rally. ​Here are some questions I hope to answer in the next several days: -- Who is the Broward County School Board member who, prior t ... More >>

Activist Calls For Ann Murray To Resign

Broward School Board Member Ann Murray has yet to publicly comment on the reprimand she received for allegedly making a racist remark, but she did try to answer questions from Freda Stevens, a political activist and and chairwoman of the Democratic Black Caucus of Broward County, about th ... More >>

UPDATED: Superintendent Jim Notter To Step Down

Broward County School Board Jim Notter is finally hitting the road ​ ​ WSVN ​UPDATED: Embattled Broward Schools Supt. Jim Notter announced today at the end of the board meeting that he is retiring from his post at the end of the school year. It's the first s ... More >>

School Board Pay Comes Under Attack

Wild Art: A recent photo of disgraced Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, who continues to represent the county on state and national boards after being implicated as a player in the Chait scandal. This comes from a just-released video from the Florida Association of Counties aimed at prote ... More >>

Broward School District Toilet-Scrubbing Consultant Paid $100,000 Per Year

fanpop.com​If you thought February's grand jury report alleging the Broward County School Board wasted away hundreds of millions of dollars on contractors and lobbyists was as bad as it could get, think again.Meet 52-year-old Reynolds Hedland III, the hundred-grand-a-year cleaning instructor on th ... More >>

Broward School District: Parents on Cell Phones Are Driving Like Morons Around Kids

csmonitor.comWho can be bothered looking out for kids when you've got this awesome phone to use?​If you drop off your kid for school and drive away with the kid's backpack stuck in the door and don't notice you're dragging your kid along the street because you're too busy texting, it's probably ti ... More >>