School board presses Broward building department on staffing, outsourcing and process fixes

At a Broward County School Board workshop (date not specified), board members pressed district leaders on delays in plan review and inspections, staffing shortages in the building department, and whether outsourcing or increased in-house spending would speed delivery of school construction and modernization projects.

The conversation matters because the district is planning to spend large sums on capital work. Board members referenced roughly $800 million in the current capital fund and noted that changing how the district reviews and inspects projects could affect how quickly that money is spent and projects are completed.

Ms. Perla, the district's chief building official, said she took the post on Dec. 15, 2021, and described efforts to map the department's processes and reduce "finger pointing" between architects, engineers, consultants and district reviewers. She told the board the district currently outsources a substantial share of reviews and inspections and that the outsourcing contract is up for renewal; staff said they expect higher costs in the new contract but also hope to increase the number of inspectors available on site.

Board members asked for three concrete items: (1) an analysis of how large the building department should…