Broward School Board OKs plan to cut hundreds of jobs amid declining enrollment

Broward School Board members approved a plan Monday that would cut hundreds of jobs, following more than eight hours of debate.

An organization chart, prepared by Superintendent Howard Hepburn, cuts about 300 filled and 700 vacant positions and is estimated to save about $54 million. The district is making major cuts due to significant drops in enrollment.

The plan was supported 7-2 with a few minor changes. Board members Nora Rupert and Adam Cervera dissented.

Board members debated the organization chart two weeks ago and had initially planned to hold a non-voting workshop on Monday, with a final vote next week. But the board agreed last week to make Monday’s meeting one where a final vote could be held. Superintendent Howard Hepburn urged the board not to delay.

“We need to make a final decision, so we can move forward, contact any newly impacted employees and start revving up the system to support our impacted employees,” Hepburn told the board.

He said most affected employees would be eligible for jobs at schools, such as teaching positions, where the district has frequent vacancies due to turnover.

Some board members were eager to accept the majority of cuts and changes to the organization chart and urged the board to pass it. Board member Lori Alhadeff said failing to make cuts could prompt a state takeover, since the district’s reserves have been teetering near a state-required minimum.

“We can make this decision now, acting with care for the people affected,” she said. “Or we can delay and make a worse version of this decision later under more pressure. I choose now, and I support this plan, not because it is easy, but because our students deserve a district structure to serve them for the long term.”

But other board members made numerous motions, seeking to cut or reinstate certain jobs, extending the meeting that started at 10 a.m. past 6 p.m.

Hepburn said the largest percentage of job cuts were at the director level or above, but Cervera still argued the organization chart cut too much from positions that deal directly with students and too little from senior leadership.

He posted a sign next to him on the dais, proclaiming, “Save Broward Schools. Vote Down the Org Chart.”

“Was our goal to protect the bigwigs in this building while screwing over the teachers and school-based staff? I’m not OK with that. But if that was the goal, we nailed it,” he said. “But for the record, that was never my intention and was never my goal.”

Cervera made a series of motions to eliminate about a half-dozen executive director positions, in areas such as food and nutrition, information technology, transportation and maintenance, none of which passed. The board did agree to cut a vacant director of transportation position that Hepburn hadn’t recommended but said he could live without.

Most board members weren’t willing to accept a proposal from Cervera to cut an executive director in the IT department.

“This is a huge organization that requires technical support. Any type of virus or any attack could just take down our entire school system,” Board member Maura Bulman said. “I think we have to be very careful, and I don’t want to be pennywise, pound-foolish about how we’re looking at these positions.”

Board member Allen Zeman, who voiced concerns last month that the organization chart didn’t make enough cuts, told the board Monday the board will have more opportunities to look for cost savings, and he’s largely satisfied with the organization chart.

“These cuts are the beginning, not the end,” he said.