The superintendent of the Broward County (Fla.) school district and the district’s chief lawyer face felony criminal charges as part of a statewide grand jury investigation stemming from the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland more than three years ago.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Superintendent Robert Runcie, who has held the job since 2011, has been indicted on a charge of perjury in an official proceeding.
General Counsel Barbara Myrick has been charged with unlawful disclosure of statewide grand jury proceedings.
Gov. Ron DeSantis impaneled the grand jury in 2019, the year after a teenage gunman with a semi-automatic rifle killed 17 staff and students and wounded 17 more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14, 2018.
Runcie’s indictment says he gave untruthful testimony before the grand jury on March 31 and April 1.
The exact allegations against Runcie and Myrick are unknown, however, because grand jury proceedings are secret. Even their attorneys say they don’t know.
According to the indictment, the grand jury has been probing whether school officials have committed fraud and deceit by mismanaging, failing to use, and diverting funds designated for school safety initiatives, and whether schools have systematically underreported incidents of criminal activity.
Critics have contended that the grand jury was politically motivated, a way for a Republican governor to oust Democratic leaders for issues related to the Parkland shooting.
DeSantis removed Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, a Democrat, shortly after taking office, but he had no power to act on Runcie, who is appointed by the school board.
