Union feud escalates to a Broward schools investigation

Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis | September 11, 2024

Broward Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn has agreed to conduct a “thorough investigation” into how an internal spat within the Broward Teachers Union nearly resulted in a school employee getting suspended.

The dispute between Jimmy Witherspoon, a steward for the Broward Teachers Union, and union President Anna Fusco made its way up the School Board and superintendent’s office, resulting in a lengthy discussion during Tuesday’s School Board meeting.

Witherspoon, a college and career adviser at Dillard 6-12 in Fort Lauderdale, told the School Board on Tuesday that Broward sheriff’s deputies came to his house about 11 p.m. Aug. 29 to question him, citing a complaint from Fusco, who had alleged he’d made an online threat against her.

The incident report wasn’t available on Wednesday. Witherspoon said the deputies questioned him that night whether he had any intention of harming Fusco, and he told them no. They didn’t take any further action.

The next morning, on Aug. 30, his principal called to say not to come to work because he was being investigated, Witherspoon said. But that action appeared to get reversed after Witherspoon said he reached out to several School Board members.

Before he was even due into work, he said he got a call from Ernie Lozano, interim chief of safety and security, saying there had been a mistake, that he wasn’t under investigation, and that he could return to work.

“The president of the union, in an overreach of her authority, has turned a BTU matter into a public Broward County Schools issue, weaponizing her position in ways that are not only improper but deeply alarming,” Witherspoon told the School Board on Tuesday.

Board member Torey Alston, a fierce critic of Fusco, questioned whether this was a case of “political harassment” by the union president.

“I want a full thorough investigation done because this stinks,” Alston said at Tuesday’s meeting.

“There will be a thorough investigation. That process has already started,” Hepburn told Alston. “I’ve already had conversations with several involved, including Mr. Witherspoon. I want to really understand the sequence of events and what led us here today.”

Fusco denies doing anything improper. She told the South Florida Sun Sentinel she reported the incident to district administrators and the Broward Sheriff’s Office after being alerted of a video that Witherspoon made on the Dillard campus and posted on Facebook.

In the video, he expressed his anger at having just gotten removed from a virtual meeting for Broward Teachers Union stewards. In that meeting, he had voiced concerns that the union had only gotten raises for teachers, not educational support professionals, the bargaining group he was in.

“I am furious, upset and, and I promise you this is just the beginning,” he said in the Facebook video. “This will not go away. They have woken up a beast, and I’m not standing for it. It’s on. ”

Fusco said multiple union members were alarmed by the video and reported it to Fortify Florida, an app to report suspicious activity or safety concerns, so she contacted the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

“I just wanted to document it because, this is a day and time where people can do whatever they want, act however they want, and I don’t want to be hurt. So I did file a police complaint. Yes, I did.”

She said she also alerted Lozano and Deputy Superintendent Angela Fulton in the district. She said this became a district issue because Witherspoon shot the video on campus at Dillard.

“I did not say fire him, take his job. I’ve never done that,” Fusco said. “But somebody needs to address it. That’s not an image we want for our school district. That’s where his students are. Now it’s on Facebook saying he’s angry and coming after someone?”

Witherspoon said the video was shot at 5 p.m., well after school hours. He said his message was that he wanted to hold Fusco accountable.

“At no point did I issue threats of harm or violence,” he told the board. “My message was clear: I was determined to seek justice for the toxic environment she has created, both in the union and within Broward County Public Schools.”

Exactly who will be the subject of this investigation is unclear. Board member Debbi Hixon said the investigation should focus only on why Witherspoon was told he needed to stay home due to an investigation, not the dispute between Witherspoon and Fusco.

“BTU is not part of the school district,” Hixon said during Tuesday’s board meeting.

But Alston argued that Fusco is a “contracted employee” with the district and falls under the district’s bullying and harassment policy.

District spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said Wednesday that Hepburn or a designee would handle the investigation, but she would not say who would be the target.

“It will be an investigation into the complaint,” she said.