Dr. Howard Hepburn is approaching his 100th day on the job as superintendent of Broward County Public Schools. As the leader of the nation’s sixth-largest school district, Hepburn has an extremely full plate.
NBC6's Ari Odzer sat down for a wide-ranging interview Wednesday afternoon and started the conversation by talking about how the students of his district performed on the statewide assessment exams.
HEPBURN: We did better than the state average on many categories, and in many categories, we led the large school districts in the state of Florida, and in most categories, we were in the top three amongst the large school districts in the state of Florida, so tremendous growth.
ODZER: But you still don’t know if that’s enough to get the "A" grade.
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HEPBURN: We don’t know yet, we’ll find out later this July, but I am definitely elated about the performance we demonstrated this past year.
ODZER: So going into this school year, what are the changes that students and teachers and parents can expect? I know one of them is the metal detector situation, right?
HEPBURN: So we’re implementing metal detectors in all of our high schools, so it’s coming to a high school near you.
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ODZER: How much extra protection do you think that gives?
HEPBURN: That gives a lot of extra protection, number one, it lets students know we are concerned about their safety, and it also alerts them to hey, don’t bring things that you should not bring to school.
ODZER: Where does Broward County Public Schools stand now in the effort to hire teachers, is there a shortage going into the year?
HEPBURN: The last I checked, we have about approximately 300 openings, which is not unusual for this time of the year, it’s the usual for this part of the summertime, which is about a 2% vacancy rate so we’re blessed to have that type of vacancy rate versus other districts that are in double digits.
ODZER: Does the increased partisanship on the school board impact what you guys can get done as a district?
HEPBURN: No, it truly doesn’t, dissent is OK, if we had a board that everybody agreed with something 100% all the time, that’s not always a good thing, you need some balance. I love rallying and leading a team to address the needs of diverse communities. For many of our students in our communities and their families, the only lever that can pull to change the trajectory for themselves or their families is a quality education. So for me, that’s my why, that’s my passion, that’s what it’s all about.
Of course, we also discussed the district’s “Redefining Schools” initiative, which is an effort to “right-size” because the district has lost upwards of 40,000 students in the past few years.
Hepburn reiterated that no schools are being repurposed this school year, but the process to close at least five schools, as mandated by the school board, is underway. He said the district will be meeting with community groups to gather feedback, and then will announce in October which schools will be shut down, which might be dramatically reconfigured, and which campuses might be getting new programs to attract more students.
