By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The superintendent of the Broward County, Florida school district wants to dump its corruption-plagued facilities department to save tax dollars and rebuild the community’s trust.

Superintendent Robert Runcie presented a plan to the school board at a non-voting meeting Tuesday to outsource most of the district’s construction and building renovation work, a move that would eliminate nearly two thirds of the facilities department personnel and save substantial cash, the Miami Herald reports.

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The change would also show the district is working to address the dysfunctional department, which “has been plagued by over-budget projects, delayed projects, and overall waste of taxpayer dollars,” the news site reports.

“In 2009, for example, former school board member Beverly Gallagher was arrested on bribery charges for accepting $12,500 in exchange for helping contractors (who were really undercover agents) land a piece of construction work,” according to the Herald.

Union officials and facilities department employees were predictably upset by the idea to outsource. They flooded the district’s administrative offices with their complaints, chief among them that Runcie’s plan cuts project managers and clerical workers, but leaves many of the department’s top brass.

“Give us a chance to perform, and provide us with ethical leadership, and I assure you will see positive change,” project manager David Herrman told board members, according to the Herald.

Regardless, Runcie and the school board seem set on pursing the issue for the public’s best interests. The superintendent notes that educators lack the knowledge to oversee these types of projects, and believes outside experts would do a better job while saving the district money.

“The cost of not doing this is projects being delayed, over budget, mishandled,” Runcie said, adding that outsourcing would be a more efficient use of tax dollars, and would “improve public trust at the same time.”

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The change makes sense, especially considering that the district’s building activities have slowed because of budget issues and declines in enrollment. The department and many of its employees are apparently not needed at the moment and may be a drag on the district budget.

“We cannot continue to do what we’ve been doing,” board member Rosalind Osgood said, according to the Herald.

Board members didn’t take action on the superintendent’s proposal because it was presented at a non-voting workshop, but “many of them seemed inclined to support it,” the news site reports.