A plan to cut hundreds of Broward school jobs proved too contentious and difficult for School Board members to agree on Tuesday, prompting them to postpone discussions for two more weeks.
Board members spent four hours debating the second version of Superintendent Howard Hepburn’s organization chart. They reviewed the first version at a workshop last week and directed Hepburn to make some changes.
During Tuesday’s meeting, board members made frequent motions to save certain jobs, leading to debates about whether they should identify other jobs to cut to help balance the plan.
Hepburn’s recommended plan would cut 809 jobs, 306 of which are currently filled. The plan would save about $40 million. The district is grappling with budget cuts due to years of declining enrollment.
But board members decided the plan wasn’t ready for approval. Board member Nora Rupert asked the board to postpone the vote and discuss the plan at a workshop, which is scheduled for May 11. A final vote is expected on May 19.
“It needs to be looked at from top to bottom,” Rupert said at the meeting. “This is not the way really good government looks, the way we’re doing it right now. … For our community, our students, our employees, and for us, we need to bring this back to another workshop.”
Board member Adam Cervera agreed the plan needs improvements and said he wants to “avoid having repeat performances where the entire community comes out and tells you that your org chart is a dumpster fire.”
District employees and community members who turned out on Tuesday widely panned the proposed plan. They questioned why it cut such jobs as suicide prevention coordinators and mental health instructional specialists at a time when mental health issues are prevalent among students.
“You need to show parents that you care about their children’s mental stability and their wellness,” Victoria Trujillo Cortellese, an instructional teacher facilitator, told board members. “Our community needs you to be courageous right now and make those hard decisions.”
Board members agreed to restore most mental health-related positions.
Hepburn resisted efforts to delay the plan, saying people who are losing their jobs need as much notice as possible.
“We intentionally started this process earlier to ensure impacted employees get the right type of support to assist them with their next steps,” he told the board. “And I think creating an aura of uncertainty where people are wishing and praying that ‘I’m going to be the person that gets my job back because the board is going to bring something back,’ I think that’s not great for the system. I think we need to make some hard decisions.”
During public comment, Nathalie Lynch-Walsh, a longtime volunteer and frequent critic of management, told board members, “Your superintendent needs to learn to read the room. It’s a bad idea” to pass the organization chart Tuesday. “Everybody has issues with it.”
Hepburn has faced criticism that his plan saves too many high-level jobs while cutting too many rank-and-file jobs. He disputes that, arguing the greatest proportion of job cuts are at the director level or above. Some audience members were skeptical.
“When we look at areas like counseling, mental health and student services, we see titles and layers, directors, supervisors, coordinators, but what we don’t see is more people actually working directly with the students. And that’s the problem. A big problem,” parent Muriel Theophin-Atilus said during public comments.
Dan Reynolds, president of the Federation of Public Employees, which represents service workers in the district, told board members his employees have already gone through cuts in the past. He said the district has reduced facilities, food service and transportation workers by 30% in the past 15 years.
“So, we don’t have any more room” for cuts, he said. “When you need a plumber, you don’t need any of the six people in the org chart above them to show up. You need a plumber with a bag full of tools.”