Broward schools botched laptop contract, inspector general finds

Miami Herald | By: Scott Travis | October 2, 2026

The Broward School District repeatedly mismanaged a competitive bidding process to exclude one technology vendor and later steer business toward another, the county’s top watchdog has concluded. A report from the county’s Office of Inspector General also alleges that one of those vendors committed possible felonies by submitting false information to get business with the school district.

Superintendent Howard Hepburn told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he is taking steps to terminate the contract of the vendor identified and will pursue discipline, up to potential termination, for district employees named in the report. “We can’t tolerate any violation of our procurement policies or procurement laws. It increases the fissure of mistrust between myself and staff, and between the (School Board) and staff as well,” Hepburn said. He said “we’ll take care of these issues swiftly” and vowed to “root this out immediately.”

The 623-page report from Inspector General Carol “Jodie” Breece is the first investigation of the school district released since Breece entered into a contract with the school district in January 2025 to review allegations of waste, fraud and mismanagement. The inspector general’s office has been reviewing county and city governments since 2010, and voters authorized the expansion to the School Board through a ballot measure in November 2024.

The report concluded that the actions by some district administrators, which included accusations of misleading the School Board, were problematic but didn’t rise to the level of criminal wrongdoing, nor did they lead to a significant waste of taxpayer dollars.