The Broward School Board resolved a dispute Tuesday with dozens of charter schools over a 2018 tax referendum, agreeing to make four years of retroactive payments plus interest by 2026.
Exactly how much those payments are remains a mystery. A lawyer with the state Board of Education estimated the total at $80 million, but the district won’t say what was agreed to in settlement negotiations with charter school lawyers. The agreement is expected to benefit all 87 charter schools in the county.
School district officials may offer more information about the settlement Wednesday at a state Board of Education meeting. The state board found the district out of compliance last month related to charter school payments and gave it until this week to resolve the issue.
The School Board took no action on two items that had direct or indirect ties to the charter school controversy: rescinding raises for Broward teachers, requested by Board member Torey Alston, and firing General Counsel Marylin Batista, requested by Board member Daniel Foganholi. The two School Board members withdrew their requests Tuesday.
The School Board discussed the charter school matter in closed-door session and then held a public vote with no discussion that was devoid of any dollar figures.
The Sun Sentinel made a public records request for the preliminary agreement but was denied.
“The preliminary agreement itself is exempt,” an email from the public records office states. Citing a state statute and the Florida constitution, the office said “claims files maintained by any risk management program administered by the state, its agencies, and its subdivisions are confidential and exempt … until termination of all litigation and settlement of all claims arising out of the same incident.”
District spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion told the Sun Sentinel Tuesday evening, “The language of the settlement agreement, including the exact amount of the payments, has not been finalized.”
The School Board did publicly say when the money would be paid. Board Chairwoman Lori Alhadeff said by July 10, a third of the principal and interest will be due. On July 10, 2025, half of the remaining payments plus interest will be made. On July 10, 2026, the remaining balance will be due.
Alhadeff said interest will be compounded at 1% monthly or 12% annually.
The motion passed 7-to-1 with Board member Allen Zeman dissenting and Alston abstaining. Alston had requested the board pass a motion to settle all charter school liability March 20, and the board voted 9-to-0, following some revisions, to support that.
“While there is no direct conflict, and out of an additional abundance of caution, including my communication with counsel in closed session, I will abstain and not vote on the item coming before the board,” Alston said prior to Tuesday’s vote. “I will file the appropriate document and step off the dais at this time.”
The charter school dispute started in October when about 30 charter schools filed a lawsuit, saying they were shortchanged out of a 2018 tax referendum. The School Board decided to give charter schools $4.6 million from the referendum, while charter schools argued a proportional share would be closer to $90 million.
While the School Board was defending itself in that lawsuit, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz issued two state letters to the district in March saying it had failed to pay charter schools money they were owed. The state law in 2018 didn’t specifically address whether charter schools must get referendum dollars, but Florida courts ruled in the charter schools’ favor.
The School Board agreed March 20 to resolve the issue quickly, but General Counsel Marylin Batista filed a memo with the state stating reasons why the district doesn’t owe money to charters. That angered several board members, including Foganholi, who placed an item on Tuesday’s agenda to fire Batista.
But after Peter Licata announced Tuesday he was stepping down as superintendent and the board replaced him with Deputy Superintendent Howard Hepburn, Foganholi withdrew the motion to fire Batista.
“With all the transition going on today, I didn’t think it was the right time to discuss it,” Foganholi told the Sun Sentinel.
Alston also cited the charter school controversy as a reason for an item he proposed, rescinding teacher raises that were just approved in February.
He argued the board faced a budget crisis and had little to no money left to give raises to other employees in the district, such as administrators, bus drivers, maintenance workers, custodians and safety and security staff. He called the request “No Employee Left Behind.”
The idea drew opposition, including on social media and on the opinion page of the Sun Sentinel. Several board members told the Sun Sentinel they wouldn’t support the measure.
“I know how to count to five, and I know four others don’t support my view that raises should be for all employees,” Alston said. “The biased media in my view clearly attempted to twist my words inaccurately. Nice try. It’s also sad to see that 14,000 employees were left behind and will be left out going forward.”
