And this got asked in the comment section
In 2014, Broward county voted for a Bond issue for $800 million which a
I did a some digging and found a report from Florida Tax Watch addressing the expenditures in several areas of Broward’s schools including security. If what I read is right, the only thing done so far that I have seen was that $109.7 million were allocated for Security improvements after Parkland and that it has been concentrated in the last 2 years on what is called ” Single Point of Entry.” My guess is to shut down all the entries to school but for one that is tightly controlled. Here is a table with the expenditures till
Now I will admit I am confused by the language in the report, but If I make any sense, this is how much it was spent in securing chain-link faces and gates till June 2018: $23,125,707.
According to what I think I read in the report and after about a year or a bit more, just a tad more of the schools in Broward county have finished putting locks and chains in the gates that will no longer be allowed to be open.
Am I reading this right? No idea, I am not an accountant. Another report, the Bond Oversight Committee Quarterly Report, June 2018 (731 pages long) gives us the following:
Safety and Security
The safety and security of students and staff continues to be the District’s highest priority. With a total approved budget of approximately $132 Million, the SAFETY component of the SMART program reflects various aspects of work including Single Point of Entry (SPE), fire sprinkler, fire alarm, and emergency exit signage/lighting improvements.
SPE projects have been a top priority in the SMART Program from early on the process. In 2016, BCPS prioritized the SPE Program by accelerating Year 4 and 5 Projects to begin in Year 3. In September 2017, BCPS identified and funded 123 additional SPE projects. In February 2018, SPE projects that were included as part of renovation project packages at 20 schools were separated out so that all SPE improvements at all BCPS schools could be completed by the end of 2018 or first quarter of 2019. This is more than two years ahead of the original 2021 completion date. As of June 2018, ALL safety and security projects have been initiated and are in various stages of implementation. Last quarter 138 projects were in the Design Phase and 66 projects were complete or met District standards. The SPE initiative made significant progress quarter with 75 projects now in the Design Phase and 135 projects complete or meet District standards.
In addition to other District security measures, SPE improvements serve to augment and enhance current safeguards by limiting access to the school through one entrance point during school hours. Improvements can include perimeter fencing, new doors or gates, and other security features that fit the unique design of each school. Working collaboratively with the school communities, the District remains diligent about enforcing existing security protocols while continuing to seek ways to enhance current features through county-wide assessments. (Page 90)
Here I see something interesting: Broward County had decided years before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that Single Points of Entry were necessary for the safety of the schools. So much so that in 2016, the funding for it was prioritized. And still after the massacre, barely half the schools in the county are set with Single Points of Entry by June 2018.
We know from the Report to The Governor that the pedestrian gates were regularly unlocked and left unsupervised prior to the beginning and ending of the school day and it was one of those unlocked and unsupervised on the east of the school which Nikolas Cruz gained access to the inside.
Let’s face it, Single Points of Entry starts with keeping all but one gate open and manned. That is about three feet of chain and a lock per gate and according to Home Depot, just under $20 worth of chain and padlock. I guess it was less trouble for the employees and less bitching from the students and parents to have 6 pedestrian gates unmanned and open.
Shall we add not having Single Points of Entry done as another link in the chain of many failures that led to the Parkland Massacre?
Miguel, you are thinking about this all wrong. You are like my wife, you want things to be rational and orderly.
When it comes to the goverment, you have to think about things assuming the absolute worst in people. Ask yourself “how could someone abuse this in order to enrich themselves the most doing the least amount of work?” Then you’ll have your answer.
I’d put money on the school system hiring a “security contractor” who is related to/friends with/donated a shit load of money to some important people in the school system. That contractor is “advising” the schools at $1,000 per hour consulting fees and and selling them the chain to lock up the gates at $500 per link.
Two words- “Maginot Line”.
Huh, didn’t know that Cruz circled the school fence through Belgium.
Must have missed that in the report 😀
Heh. Actually, it’s more a reference to the stupidity of having no defense in depth.
Yes, you discovered that leftist bureaucracies will charge 1,000% more than a capitalist system would charge, and I bet it’s part of a 5-year plan.
So, is the school board commissioner addressed as ‘Commisar’?
Thanks for looking into this Miguel. After the initial reports that I saw, I occasionally try to find further information and I only seem to find “news” about the extra funding that was allocated *after* Parkland. It seems that either the money still hasn’t been used or that it is gone and nobody knows where. The press, even the right leaning press, has completely failed to pull this thread.
There is some video of the young man that discovered this discrepancy confronting the Broward County School Board here. There seems to be much more to this just from their relations during the meeting.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am the farthest thing from an investigative journalists, but some stuff is plain to see.
Agreed. The reactions from the school board when questioned about it felt like there was much more to the story than just dropping the ball on allocating the funds.
I keep hoping someone will blow the lid off of the whole thing and discover what exactly is being covered up but I still doubt any bueracrat would ever serve jail time or even be fired.
It is a very sad example of just how bad government corruption has become, how deadly the consequences can be, and how brainwashed the public is for defending them.
This is the result of the leftist progressives that run broward county.
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