A state audit found that the Broward School District overstated student attendance figures and recommended it pay back $878,000 to the state.
A Florida Auditor General’s report found 140 instances of inaccurate reporting. Auditors said the district overstated by the equivalent of 171 full-time students, which equals $878,149. The audit said $759,552 of that applies to district-run schools and $118,597 is applicable to charter schools.
The routine audit, which was completed in April for the 2023-24 school year, recommended that the district pay the money back. But it said “the ultimate resolution of our proposed adjustments” is up to the Florida Department of Education. That agency did not respond to requests for comment. A school district spokesman said no funding reductions have been made as a result of the audit.
The attendance reporting was one of two areas of “material noncompliance” identified by auditors.
In the second area, the audit found that the district did not meet state requirements related to teacher certification in nearly a quarter of the teachers reviewed in a sample (115 of 489). In some cases, the teachers had no certification at all. In other cases, they were teaching outside of the field they were certified in, but the schools did not notify parents of this, as required by law.
The auditors did not recommend any financial penalties related to teacher certification issues.
The findings were part of an audit called “Florida Education Finance Program Full-Time Equivalent Student Enrollment and Student Transportation,” which is conducted on all school districts every few years.
State auditors found some problems in Broward’s school transportation services, including some students who were listed as riding on a school bus despite not being enrolled at school or not being qualified for transportation services.
Despite 12 transportation findings, auditors wrote, “in our opinion, the Broward County District School Board complied, in all material respects, with state requirements relating to the classification, assignment, and verification of student transportation …”
While the Auditor General’s report was released in 2026, the period reviewed was the 2023-24 school year, and district officials said they have already fixed many of the problems.
“The district takes the Auditor General’s findings seriously and has already implemented corrective actions to address the issues identified,” district spokesman John Sullivan said. “While the findings involved several operational areas, including transportation, teacher certification and student enrollment reporting, they generally reflected the need for stronger internal controls, documentation and monitoring processes.
“The district has strengthened procedures, enhanced oversight, reinforced staff training and implemented additional review processes to improve compliance and reporting accuracy,” Sullivan said. “We will continue to monitor these areas closely and make any additional improvements necessary to ensure full compliance with state requirements.”
Among the issues identified in the audit:
— Eight teachers reviewed did not hold a valid Florida certificate. The principals classified them as having sufficient expertise in their subject area to teach, but this was not approved by the superintendent or School Board as required, the audit found.
— Seven schools did not retain attendance records completed by substitute teachers, and one school did not retain student sign-in or sign-out sheets, the audit found.
— At Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, a student with disabilities and an English language learner were not at school during the attendance reporting periods and should not have been counted, auditors said. The school also could not locate timecards for six Dillard students in career education programs, despite this being required to count the students as present.
— At Stephen Foster Elementary in Fort Lauderdale, English language learning student plans for four students could not be located, so they should not have received extra funding eligible for students in the English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ESOL, program, the audit found.
— At Coconut Creek High, English language learning plans could not be located for 25 students, and one student was not in attendance during the February 2024 reporting survey period. The school also counted 12 students who were not present during the attendance reporting days.
— At Tradewinds Elementary in Coconut Creek, two special needs students were not in attendance during the October 2023 reporting survey period and should not have been reported for funding, the audit stated.
— At Avant Garde Academy, a charter school in Hollywood, one English language learning student was not in attendance during the October 2023 reporting survey period and should not have received funding, the audit found.
— At Academic Solutions High School, a charter school in Coral Springs, the attendance of five students could not be verified. For two of those students, the attendance records “were not available at the time of our examination and could not be subsequently located,” the audit said.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn told auditors that the district acquired a new student data management system in the 2024-25 school year called Focus, which produces attendance reports and has enabled it to correct many of the issues. The district provided a 10-page response to all the findings.
“The District is committed to addressing each finding with fidelity and urgency, while strengthening internal
systems to ensure sustained compliance moving forward,” he wrote. “We will continue to monitor
implementation closely and make any necessary changes.
“We value the insights provided through this audit, as they support our ongoing efforts to enhance operational
effectiveness and ensure the highest standards of compliance and service for our students, families, and staff,” Hepburn wrote.