Four DeSantis-Appointed Broward County School Board Members Sworn In
BROWARD COUNTY (FLV) – Four new Broward County School Board members were sworn in Tuesday morning after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed them following neglect of duty from previous board members.
Ryan Reiter, Torey Alston, Manual “Nandy” A. Serrano, and Kevin Tynan were sworn in Tuesday. The governor appointed the new school board members Friday after the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury recommended the suspension of four members because of incompetence, neglect of duty, and misuse of authority.
“I will work with this board to ensure student achievement and student safety remain our number one priority,” said newly-appointed School Board Member Torey Alston at the swearing-in ceremony.
Alston has previously served as a Broward County Commissioner and President of Indelible Solutions
“I understand my fiduciary responsibilities, oversight role, and keeping our students at the center of what I do,” Alston said. “I’m a businessman and an executive and I know how to turn around organizations. I am ready to lead on this school board.”
Manual “Nandy” A. Serrano is a member of the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors and CEO and Founder of Clubhouse Private Wealth. Ryan Reiter is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Director of Government Relations for Kaufman Lynn Construction. Kevin Tynan is an Attorney with Richardson and Tynan, who previously served on the Broward County School Board and South Broward Hospital District.
Board members Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray and Laurie Rich Levinson were suspended.
The Florida Supreme Court impaneled the Statewide Grand Jury after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The Grand Jury investigated whether school officials committed fraud and deceit by mismanaging funds.
DeSantis Suspends Four Broward School Board Members for Neglect of Duty, Misuse of Authority Surrounding 2018 School Shooting
The governor’s office cited the grand jury’s findings, which noted that safety-related alarms were not installed at multiple schools and “is such a low priority.” The alarm possibly could have saved lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the report said. The governor’s office also pointed out parts of the report saying students are learning in “unsafe, aging, decrepit, moldy buildings that were supposed to have been renovated years ago.”
The governor’s office called these “inexcusable actions” by school board members who have shown “a pattern of emboldening unacceptable behavior, including fraud and mismanagement, across the district.”
