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Board hears request for facility air-quality testing as counsel says employee will be reinstated after charges dismissed
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Summary
A former district employee asked the Broward County School Board for environmental assessments at several schools; district counsel said Patricia Hillwill be reinstated now that the state attorney issued a no-process dismissal of the disqualifying charges.
June Cole, a current or former Broward County Public Schools employee, told the board she has struggled with health issues and formally requested facility condition assessments and air-quality testing (including mold, ventilation, humidity and particulate matter) at Hallandale High School, Deerfield Beach High School, Blanche Ely High School and Coconut Creek High School.
"I'm formally requesting a facility's condition assessment and an air quality analysis, including but not limited to mold, ventilation, humidity, and particle matter testing for the following locations," Cole said during public comment, asking the district to provide prior reports, remediation records and a timeline for any new assessments.
Later in the meeting, district counsel explained the personnel matter that several speakers referenced. Counsel described Floridastatute 435.04 governing level-2 screenings and said the professional standards committee and legal staff had followed statutory procedures when the district took action. Counsel said the state attorney issued a "no process" dismissal for the disqualifying counts and that, as a result, the district will reinstate the employee effective the date the charges were dismissed.
"She's being reinstated. It is not willy-nilly. It is required by statute," counsel said, describing the district's decision-making timeline and noting staff reached out to the state attorney to clarify the case. Board members asked staff to follow up about whether retroactive pay for lost time is possible and the process for reinstatement.
The board did not take a separate formal vote on the testing request during the meeting; board members directed staff to follow up with the requester and to work with legal and human resources on personnel details. The district did not specify a timeline for environmental assessments during the meeting.
What happens next: staff said they would meet with the employee and counsel to follow up on retro-pay and provide any timeline that is available for environmental assessments and records that can be released consistent with privacy laws.
