A Republican appointee to the Broward School Board is asking a state inspector general to investigate some of his Democratic colleagues for what he alleges are improper relationships with the Broward Teachers Union.
Torey Alston, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to the School Board in August 2022, is alleging that some elected board members who supported a recent teacher pay increase disclosed confidential information from closed-door meetings to union members.
In a five-page letter sent March 8 to Mike Blackburn, inspector general for the Florida Department of Education, Alston also alleges that the teachers union pressured board members it’s supporting for reelection this year into agreeing to raises the district couldn’t afford.
Alston doesn’t name any specific board members, but Debbi Hixon, Sarah Leonardi and Jeff Holness are all up reelection in August and have received endorsements and campaign contributions from the union.
Three other board members not up for reelection this year — Lori Alhadeff, Nora Rupert and Allen Zeman — also agreed on Feb. 27 to support raises for teachers that averaged 3.96%. The six board members are Democrats and all except Zeman were endorsed by the teachers union for their current term.
Alston and his two Republican colleagues, Brenda Fam and fellow DeSantis appointee Daniel Foganholi voted against the teacher contract, voicing concerns about how the district was paying for them.
At the Aug. 27 meeting, it was publicly revealed the school district is using about $20 million in federal COVID relief dollars to help pay for the raises, money that won’t be available to use next year, and district officials have warned the budget year could be dire due to decreasing enrollment.
Several board members say they expect the DeSantis-controlled education department to launch an inquiry or investigation since the request is coming from Alston, a DeSantis ally, and the state has been eager to investigate the operations of Broward schools, which was the main focus of a statewide grand jury report released in 2022.
The department has announced two recent investigations, one related to construction issues and separation pay of former employees and another related to whether the district shortchanged charter schools out of millions from a 2018-voter approved referendum.
The district has received no notice from the state on whether it will pursue an investigation related to Alston’s allegations, spokesman John Sullivan said, and Alston said he hadn’t received notice either. A spokesperson from the Department of Education did not respond to multiple inquiries from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
In his letter, Alston outlined a number of observations that mirrored allegations he had brought up at the Feb. 27 School Board meeting.
“At the meeting, I called for an outside independent investigation,” Alston wrote. “As my grandmother was fond of saying, ‘Where there is smoke, fire is not far behind.’
Hixon, Leonardi, Rupert and Zeman all denied doing anything improper when contacted by the Sun Sentinel, while Holness and Alhadeff couldn’t be reached.
“There is no smoke or fire here,” Rupert said.
“He is not talking about me,” Board member Debbi Hixon said. “I have never shared anything from closed door with anyone, not even my assistant. I was a teacher for 32 years and have always advocated and will continue to advocate for the highest raises for employees.”
Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco also denied the allegations, saying they are “all false and fake observations.”
Alston told the Sun Sentinel he believes a thorough review will find issues that board members and district staff are already aware of.
“If there are no issues and my observations are off base and the district is scandal free, then all board members should join me and welcome this independent review,” he said.
Leonardi said she has no concerns about the state potentially reviewing the allegations.
“I welcome any call for transparency,” she said.
Alston’s letter centers on contentious eight-month negotiations between the School Board and the union, which started last June. The board and union first agreed without major conflict to teacher supplements from a voter-approved referendum that ranged from $500 to $12,000.
The district and union started negotiating regular raises in August, with the board initially offering an average 1.7% increase, using state funds already earmarked for teacher salary increases. The union asked for increases of 7% to 9%.
“I learned that School Board Members were talking to the President of the Broward Teachers Union (BTU) potentially about items discussed during closed sessions,” Alston wrote. “Some board members have acknowledged communication and others have not acknowledged it publicly.”
Alston alleged in his letter to the state that each time the board met in closed session to discuss negotiations, “details of our discussions along with dollar amounts offered, percentages offered and/or strategic decisions made somehow ended up online, on X formerly known as Twitter, in Facebook groups and text messages.”
Alston also questioned why General Counsel Marylin Batista sent out a letter to board members multiple times saying Florida laws prohibit board members from sharing confidential information learned during closed-door session if the information is “for his or her personal gain or benefit or for the personal gain or benefit of any other person or business entity.”
Batista initially sent her letter to board members May 25 after Alhadeff, the board chair, expressed concerns that another board member shared on social media closed-door information on an unrelated matter.
“Subsequently, the General Counsel sent two additional reminders to the board in December 2023 and February 2024, at the climax of tough negotiations,” Alston wrote to Blackburn.
Batista told Alston at the Feb. 27 meeting that the reminders she sent came at the request of Alhadeff.
Batista’s response “led me to believe that additional memos were sent for added emphasis and it raises suspicion of why the added guidance was needed,” Alston wrote.
Alston also questioned whether board decisions may be influenced by endorsements and financial support by the teachers union, which has supported School Board candidates for decades.
He said contributions made to three board members came between late September and early October “during the height of intense negotiation.” A review of campaign finance reports showed the contributions were for Hixon, Holness and Leonardi for $1,000 each. Alston alleged this may equate to “pay to play.”
In early 2024, the School Board offered a 3.96% increase, but with the condition that most of it not be recurring since the district would lose COVID dollars after the current year. The union rejected that offer.
“In another twist, two School Board Members who were not present at a Jan. 30th session, showed up at the Feb. 13, 2024 session, one appearing chronically ill choosing to sit in the back of the board room with a mask and the other sat patiently, only to vote in a different direction, changing the trajectory of the collective decision,” Alston wrote. “While I respect these board members, any neutral observer would wonder if the union played a role in pushing these board members to act with no fiscal restraint.”
It’s unclear why the School Board was still debating the matter Feb. 13, since the district had already made a public offer of 3.96% recurring raises, which the union accepted, during a bargaining session Feb. 5.
Rupert told the Sun Sentinel she is the board member who wore the mask at the closed-door session.
“I would like to deal with actual facts and not conjecture. I had COVID, which exacerbated my severe asthma,” Rupert said. “Since the Board does not permit calling in for closed-door sessions, I was NOT privy to what conversations occurred between mid-January and mid-February. I have complied with all public record requests on both my personal and work phones for the time requested.”
Alston also raised questions about possible communications between the union and district staff who attended some closed-door sessions. He alleged Superintendent Peter Licata removed a staff member for this reason.
Sullivan told the Sun Sentinel that Licata limited staff participation in closed-door meetings, but declined to say if it had anything to do with potential communications with the union.
“The Superintendent possesses full authority concerning the participation of staff members in closed-door meetings and negotiations,” Sullivan said. “Therefore, to streamline the negotiation process, the Superintendent decided to limit staff involvement in closed-door negotiations and has authorized only the [human resources chief] to engage in negotiations with BTU.”
Foganholi, Alston’s fellow DeSantis appointee on the board, said he shares Alston’s concerns.
“I have observed all of the same things board member Alston pointed out in his letter,” he said. “You can call him a lot of things, a fiscal watchdog, a Broward public school kid but one thing you can never call him is a liar, or someone who does not do their homework. I hope that we get eyes on this situation as soon as possible.”
The seats for Alston and Foganholi expire in November. Foganholi has filed to run to try to keep his District 1 seat in southeast Broward. Alston has not announced whether he plans to run for his current District 2 seat in southwest Broward.