Attorney General James Uthmeier says he will investigate Broward County Public Schools\u2019 handling of multimillion-dollar technology contracts that a county watchdog linked to efforts to steer business toward a vendor.<\/p>\n
Broward Inspector General Carol \u201cJodie\u201d Breece\u2019s findings include misleading statements to the School Board and allegations that a vendor submitted falsified paperwork to win a contract.<\/p>\n
Her office referred the report to Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor\u2019s Office, raising the possibility of a joint investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe raised concerns regarding this process last year, and the IG\u2019s report failed to alleviate those concerns,\u201d Uthmeier wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe plan to investigate this further.\u201d<\/p>\n Pryor\u2019s spokesperson, Paula McMahon, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel<\/a> \u2014 which first reported on Uthmeier\u2019s comments and did a deep dive<\/a> on the debacle last week \u2014 that prosecutors from both offices intend to discuss the case and that the State Attorney\u2019s Office welcomes collaboration.<\/p>\n As detailed in a 623-page report<\/a>, Breece\u2019s Office examined three solicitation efforts between September 2023 and October 2024 for computer purchases and distribution services exceeding $40 million. The resulting program distributed roughly 80,000 laptops to students.<\/p>\n Investigators described repeated decisions that disadvantaged Lenovo<\/a>, the District\u2019s longtime computer supplier, and efforts to secure work for a separate company handling device deployment.<\/p>\n After Lenovo announced plans to challenge a proposed award to competitor HP<\/a>, District personnel recommended scrapping every bid, citing omitted device types. Investigators concluded the underlying goal was actually to prevent Lenovo from receiving the contract.<\/p>\n A District procurement employee had recommended extending Lenovo\u2019s existing contract, estimating that option would cost $11.3 million less than seeking new bids, according to the Sun-Sentinel.<\/p>\n During a subsequent competition, a now-retired Broward Schools economic development and diversity compliance officer, identified only as D.M. in the report, and Broward Schools employee and vendor Brian Farrell, owner and President of Fort Lauderdale-based Phone & Pad Warehouse<\/a>, sought to persuade low bidder Figgers Communications<\/a> to hire Farrell\u2019s company as a subcontractor.<\/p>\n Company owner Freddie Figgers refused, and the District ultimately canceled that competition, too. The IG found that District employees Jennifer Andreu \u2014 a Plantation City Council member \u2014 and Matthew Bradford, whom Superintendent Howard Hepburn removed as the District\u2019s interim tech chief in August, misled the School Board about staff\u2019s access to bid prices.<\/p>\n Investigators found Farrell \u201cobtained information not officially disclosed to the other bidders and used this information in an attempt to secure work on the bid,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n Bradford denied intentionally misleading the School Board. Andreu challenged the investigation\u2019s methods and disputed allegations that she helped steer business to Farrell\u2019s company.<\/p>\n For a third round of bidding, the District sought separate contracts for the devices and their distribution, with staff recommending HP for the equipment and Farrell\u2019s company for deployment.<\/p>\n That final equipment solicitation excluded Chromebooks and Android devices, even though District staff had cited their absence as a reason to cancel the first competition.<\/p>\n Breece\u2019s Office alleged Farrell obtained a five-year contract, worth approximately $540,625 annually through 2030, using a modified warehouse lease that overstated his rented space more than twofold. The submitted lease listed 10,800 square feet instead of the actual 4,800 square feet; bidders needed evidence of at least 10,000 square feet.<\/p>\n Investigators calculated that awarding the deployment contract to the alternate vendor \u201cwould have cost BCPS $108,750.00 less over the life of the five-year contract,\u201d the report said. They also concluded Farrell violated state laws covering two third-degree felonies and a second-degree misdemeanor, referring their findings to prosecutors.<\/p>\n They did not find probable cause for bid-tampering charges against District employees because they could not establish who disclosed the confidential bidding information.<\/p>\n Farrell\u2019s lawyer, Sidney Calloway, disputed aspects of the findings and argued his limited response should not be interpreted as accepting the allegations.<\/p>\n