Just a quick refresher course on Broward School Board history before Governor Ron DeSantis makes a “major announcement” this afternoon. Secrecy and silencing critics is nothing new at the District. Here’s a tidbit from the 2011 Grand Jury report (pre-Runcie):

Silencing Critics by Threats
“Around the same time we became aware of another published report concerning an attack on a person using the Facebook identity of Broward Cleansweep. This person has been highly critical of the Board and its operations and has called for the ouster of virtually all incumbent Board members. An anonymous poster, believing Broward Cleansweep to be a District employee (and married to another District employee) threatened to use his connections at the District or Board to have both of them fired and or prosecuted if he did not immediately take down the Facebook page and stop his attacks on the Board. Ultimately the poster concluded Broward Cleansweep was not who he believed and abandoned his attacks. This extortionate attempt to silence political criticism is poison in any democratic society. The attack would be reprehensible coming from any quarter. For it to come from a Broward political consultant who has worked for numerous local political candidates, including school board members, is even more disturbing. Worst of all, the poster who attempted to silence Broward Cleansweep has previously served, and presently does serve on District advisory council(s). Based on the testimony we heard, at least one Board member is aware of what took place, yet so far as we know, no action has been taken to ask this person to voluntarily resign, disclose his actions to the rest of the Board, or otherwise disassociate from him. So far as we know, no one at the Board has even asked a single question about this incident, nor expressed any desire to determine who might be attacking a District employee for exercising his rights.”

pages 40 and 41

More to come…