High-paid administrators in the Broward County school district received large bonuses from a referendum that wasn't clearly explained to the School Board or the public, a recent district audit found.
Language in a 2018 referendum outlined that an increase in property tax would be used to fund teacher pay, safety, security and mental health. When it was renewed with a boost in 2022, the referendum said money would go to teachers "and staff."
But, according to an audit conducted by the district office of Chief Auditor Dave Rhodes, the wording of the 2022 referendum failed to specify which non-teaching staff would see the benefits.
READ MORE:Broward superintendent welcomes state to help district 'streamline operations' after DeSantis slight
Some administrators earning over $250,000 a year collected supplemental income from the referendum. Since this information emerged, some Broward County School Board members have said they weren't given key information before approving the bonuses.
The ambiguity of "and staff" made room for administrative employees at the district level to receive the perk.
The audit found wide-ranging interpretations that "demonstrate that board members held differing interpretations and understanding of whether all employees would be included in the 2024-2025 allocation, underscoring the absence of documented eligibility criteria and a shared understanding among decision makers."
In the summer of 2024, the referendum allocations in front of the school board didn't mention adding higher-paid employees, the audit said.
The item said that all eligible employees represented by the management employee group Educational Support and Management Association of Broward would qualify for the referendum money. The auditor asked an official why the language specifying that the money go to only certain groups was removed from the school board agenda item without explanation, saying the person described the mistake as an "oversight."
Board members voted in January to stop the payments of up to $14,000. School board member Allen Zeman confirmed to WLRN he's pushing the rest of the board to seek reimbursements from administrators who, he believes, weren't meant to receive the money.
This comes as the district continues to navigate recent financial scandals — it suddenly backed out of an office-space lease worth nearly $3 million, which resulted in a lawsuit against the district, and a "botched multimillion-dollar procurement process" meant to find an entity to oversee construction projects.
Copyright 2026 WLRN
