Charter Chief Supports School Bonds
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Robert Haag, longtime superintendent of the Charter Schools of Excellence, has announced his support for the public schools’ $800 million bond referendum.
Haag’s endorsement of the bonds is in an ad that began arriving at homes on Thursday. Haag sponsored the ad, which used a Fort Lauderdale mail drop address.
The ad supports a bi-partisan group of candidates, but takes no position on the governor’s race, the medical marijuana amendment or on reauthorizing the Children’s Services Council.
Other charter school officials are quietly opposing the bonds or are sitting on their hands.
A very small fraction of the charter money — about $300 per student — is promised to the charters for technology. But even that money may not be awarded.
School officials warned the Pembroke Pines Commission, which operates city charter schools, that they school system has not gotten a legal opinion on whether giving any money from the bond issue would be legal.
Haag’s schools have four campuses in Broward and are among the county’s oldest charters.
Below is his ad (click to enlarge): 
October 10th, 2014 at 11:28 am
Buddy:
“School officials warned the Pembroke Pines Commission, which operates city charter schools, that they school system has not gotten a legal opinion on whether giving any money from the bond issue would be legal.”
This statement was provided by BCSB Counsel at our joint workshop held last month. PLEASE NOTE – This statement applies for ALL Charter Schools Countywide.
Our City Attorney has had follow up conversations with the district and the Charter Schools Countywide will find out after the vote in November.
At the same meeting, School Board Members agreed that restoring the tax levy to 2 Mils would generate enough $ annually vs. having to budget capital purchases over a 30 year period through the bond.
No City Commission along with the Broward League of Cities have expressly endorsed or opposed the Bond Referendum.
We currently have 40K charter school students and 22K empty seats in traditional schools. That means the County has more students than seats, yet there has been no proposal to build more schools like in the Parkland Area to avoid boundary line issues for the next two decades.
The supermajority of Charter Schools have the technology that the County has proposed. In fact, at no time has the County done a needs assessment on the technology for Charters.
Pembroke Pines City Manager Dodge demonstrated how the Board could save $200M of the $800M Bond proposal through partnership energy agreements that could provide new roofs and HVAC units throughout the County at ZERO cost.
Buddy I appreciated your attendance at the workshop. Hearing the information firsthand is always best.
October 10th, 2014 at 11:43 am
I see two of Mr. Haag’s employees are the VP (Ruth Lynch) and the Treasurer (Henry Rose) for BUILD who is a pro bond group. Financing and sending out a mailing to 100k voters for a few bucks out of the bond makes ya wonder..
http://buildfuturesinbroward.com/?page_id=423
October 10th, 2014 at 4:39 pm
BUILD is a non-profit organization which has not taken a penny from the district nor would we do that. BUILD is currently working on the bond issue, but as important issues come up either in the schools or other community issues we will help in the way the organization feels it should go. Not all non-profits can be purchased and this is one cannot.
October 11th, 2014 at 9:11 am
Maybe i am too cynical but i smell a political deal here at the publics expense. The bond issue stinks like rotten fish, n u know where fish rot starts, the head
October 11th, 2014 at 3:14 pm
As always, follow the money trail.
I didn’t know that Henry Rose and Ruth Lynch were getting paid by Robert Haag.
But considering that the charter school management companies are making money hand over fist, I’m sure he has enough money to pay for their salaries and for the mailing. I wonder if BUILD paid anything for the mailing because a 501(c)(4) can’t spend much of total income on lobbying.
October 11th, 2014 at 3:16 pm
Forgot to ask: Who are you, “zgt?”
If you speak on behalf of BUILD you should identify yourself.
October 11th, 2014 at 5:25 pm
Buddy,
Good for John Hage. He came to his conclusion and I came to mine, just as the voters will come to theirs.
I’m still voting no.
When the Broward County School Board stops discriminating and starts treating every public school student fairly, by distributing all of their tax dollars fairly to all students, they may then count on my vote and support for new taxes.
Until then, not one red penny more from me. Not if my vote is required.
Peace.
Angelo
October 11th, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Bob Haag is a personal friend of Robert Runcie so I would expect him to support the bond. I can only wonder what back room deal these two have worked out.
October 12th, 2014 at 7:18 am
There is a big expose in the Sentinel
on the Maverick schools
October 13th, 2014 at 7:56 am
How can we explain that the school district doesn’t have a complete legal opinion about how they can spend the bond dollars when they’ve already published their spending plan?
Perhaps there’s an unpublished Plan B to suddenly emerge after the election replacing the current plan because “the lawyers said so” and if there is no Plan B, then the district is simply sloppy about how they propose to spend nearly a billion dollars.
Either way their effort has failed to earn my confidence and I have every reason based on their own past behavior to distrust them. Given that past it is insulting for them to come out with anything but a clear, transparent and well thought out plan.
FROM BUDDY:
That’s what was said publicly at a Pembroke Pines meeting. Pines Vice Mayor Jay Schwartz above comments further on what was said. There was a lengthy discussion of it at the meeting which I attended.
My take: More flim flam. They can’t even guarantee the crumbs that they offered the charters.
October 19th, 2014 at 10:27 am
Friends,
Please forgive my error in typing John Hage instead of Robert Haag above, it was an honest error on my part which I am correcting in order to demonstrate my respect for both gentlemen.
I’m still voting no for the school bond issue, hoping we can make it fair and otherwise get it right next year.
Angelo
October 19th, 2014 at 2:42 pm
Bob Haag started the very first and some of the most successful charters in Broward. Charter Schools of Excellence schools mirror the district wide rates of student’s who have special needs and free and reduced lunch rates. He doesn’t reject kids with special needs or refuse to provide them with services like so may other charters do. He is also the elected Chair of the Charter School Consortium, the largest group of charter schools in the state.
Jon Hage is a former disgruntled Charter Schools of Excellence employee. He was more interested in the capitalism part of charters than what is best for students and it shows.
Angelo is clueless and does whatever Ed P and Charlie Dodge tells him to. Wait, who works for who?