Following Runcie Down The Rabbit Hole
BY BUDDY NEVINS
AIDS was created by government agencies to control the population. Fluoride was put in our water by the trilatralists or illuminati or whoever to sap and impurify our body fluids.
And disgruntled drivers and other low ranking union members caused the ongoing Broward school bus foul up.
That’s Superintendent Robert Runcie’s fantastic accusation in the Sun-Sentinel today.
The newspaper calls the charge “extraordinary.” To be kind, I would call them fanciful. To believe him is to follow him down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.
School Superintendent Runcie: Conspiracy Theorist
This one of the worst examples of an administrator failing to take responsibility for his failures. It is beneath contempt to pass the buck all the way down the line to the lowest paid employees.
His theory – I call it a theory because he offered no proof that the Sun-Sentinel printed — would take a conspiracy involving dozens of individuals.
Did the union members eliminate roughly a dozen people who mapped out stops and schedules for the bus system? No, Runcie’s budget did.
Did the union members scheduled to pick up students as early as 4:20 a.m. and pick them up at school as late as 7:30 p.m.? I guess that was a conspiracy of the drivers and the staff, too.
Did the unions fail to hire enough drivers to cover all the routes? No, that is Runcie’s job.
Did the unions schedule an entire bus route to be picked up in less than 10 minutes? No, Runcie’s people did.
Other than blaming his workers, Runcie told the Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald that other problems included computer software glitches and “breakdowns in communications across departments.”
How about admitting that he and his upper staff botched their job? How about admitting that he is ultimately responsible?
Here is what I predict: Runcie’s police force, the special investigative unit, will claim they have evidence that a few drivers are guilty of deliberately disrupting the system. Basically, they will frame a few to take the heat off Runcie.
The SUI has a history of shaping its “investigations” to fit the political will of the school system bureaucracy.
Let’s explore the rest of Runcie’s story to the Sun-Sentinel.
Even conceding his argument that the school bus division needed an overhaul, it shouldn’t be done all at once. It is too disruptive, as has been seen.
Anyway, Runcie is being paid to overhaul and change the system. He should be able to do it without inconveniencing the parents and embarrassing the School Board.
I remember another chief administer who stumbled when she overhauled her office overnight: Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant.
Her changes and lack of planning bungled an election.
Oliphant publicly blamed a lot of others for her mistakes. It didn’t help. She was removed from office.
Runcie should quit spinning fantasies and start fixing problems.
There is an election in November. Members Robin Bartleman and Donna Korn are on the ballot.
If the School Board doesn’t hold him accountable then the public should hold the School Board accountable.
Robert Runcie should learn that the sign on Truman’s desk said “The Buck Stops Here”. Not pass the buck.
August 29th, 2012 at 9:32 am
Blame the Union, Blame Bush, Blame Obama, Blame everyone except the guy you see in the mirror. It is inept cronyism by Runcie in bringing in his Chicago pal to run the bus system that caused this. The good news in all of this is that Runcie must be a Republican, because he sure adheres to to the party line of blaming the Unions for all that is wrong with America today. However, the voters of Broward are also to blame for electing school board members who would rather “go with the flow”, in order to preserve their sinecure(s), pensions and power; rather than take any actions to truly provide an education for the youth of this County. Thank G-d my children are grown and gone from this system.
August 29th, 2012 at 10:26 am
I agree completely. The union may wish it had that kind of power, it doesn’t. Leaving fifty positions open is a problem; creating routes meandering miles out of the way is not more efficient; not getting rid of incompetent employees: these things are 100% management responsibilities. A number of us have been sending information regarding inefficiencies to the board for years through advisory committees, and nothing has been done by management. While there may be some rogue employees out there, there is no evidence that these problems were orchestrated — and alot of evidence that management is not up to par. It is time to get all of the facts out on how bad the problem is — with real figures and statistics on early/late buses, wacky routes, etc. And it is time for real leadership by the board.
August 29th, 2012 at 10:34 am
Robin Bartleman and Donna Korn are running for reelection and need to be defeated. WE PARENTS MUST SEND A MESSAGE TO THESE FOLKS!!!!!!! We aren’t going to take it anymore. They hired Runcie and we need to fire them. FIRE BARTLEMAN AND KORN.
August 29th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
There is one way to find out. Send in an independent reviewer.
Until then sabotage is a fair and likely assumption. Certainly it could be a big part of the problem which is not to also suggest that the administrative leaders did everything correctly either. Change isn’t always implemented flawlessly. But now with everyone’s credibility on the line we can expect improvements to occur.
August 29th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
ROBIN IS ONE OF THE MOST PROFESSIONAL AND CARING ELECTED OFFICIALS IN BROWARD. KORN IS DOING A TERRIFIC JOB AND IS RUNNING AGAINST A GUY WHO DIDNT VOTE ON A BUDGET IN 2012 AS A STATE REP, HAS NO INTEREST IN THE SCHOOL BOARD EXCEPT TO HELP BUILD HIS TAX PAYERS PENSIONS, AND HAS DONATIONS COMING FROM EVERYONE EXCEPT THOSE WHO SHOULD BE GIVING TO A SCHOOL BOARD RACE. TRUST ME, OF ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS IN BROWARD, THESE ARE THE MOST COMPETENT OF THE GROUP!
August 29th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Didn’t School Board Member Murray used to be in charge of school buses? Why is she so silent on this issue?
FROM BUDDY: Good point.
August 29th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Why does a School Board need so called wanna be cops any way. The only thing they do is lie to protect there own. There the ones that should all be fired. I say get rid of the whole SIU unit and use out side sources.
August 29th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
The voters need a choice on an elected superintendent and the Legislature should give it to them. Donna Korn should make the motion for an elected superintendent to save her job…
August 29th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Buddy,
As a Kubrick fan, I am ashamed of you: according to General Jack Ripper, water fluoridation is a COMMUNIST (not trilateralist) conspiracy to sap us of our PRECIOUS bodily fluids.
Get your conspiracies right, man! LOL.
/sarcasm
Kevin.
FROM BUDDY:
The movie Kevin is talking about is the great Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove”. According to a book I consulted, the conspiracy has been modernized since communists are no longer a threat.
August 29th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Frank,
The Florida Constitution DOES allow an elected superintendent for county school boards, if the voters of the county choose to do so. However, I doubt the school board would propose it. PS: there is a strange quirk in the state constitution that school boards are elected on a non-partisan basis, but elected superintendents on a partisan one. Go figure.
Kevin.
August 29th, 2012 at 5:17 pm
The constitution and statute 1001 require the board to pass the resolution to call the election for superintendent. The Legislature may also do it by special act (local bill). There is no provision for local petition process or other “people generated way” to force an election.
August 29th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Karnack says as the original conspiracy theorist, according to SBBC Board and management, I take great offense by this Johnny come lately RUNDMC stealing my conspiratorial rights and privileges. Karnack says how are we going to keep the players straight when everybody is conspiring against the conspirators. Karnack says chaos is chaos. Karnack says many of the old failures still in position to whisper in the ears of the Chicago mob. Karnack says Old guard still has five votes. Karnack says RUNDMC biggest mistake was to not wipe the place clean when he first had the chance. Karnack says now he has no respect, the facilitators left behind never had respect, and the Board has no respect, and the taxpayers pay for the chaos.
Karnack says Kraft case on terminal hold along with the final Grand Jury findings. Karnack says people of Broward County must like their politics hard and rough cause that is sure the way they continue to get it. Karnack says until they vote out the incumbents they will continue to get it hard and rough. Karnack says your first sign is ten percent of the people show up to vote and sitsonhishands still gets elected after all these years. Karnack says sit down and shut up the machine will tell you when you can walk and talk as long as you stay out of its way.
August 30th, 2012 at 11:38 am
I have met Mr Runcie and found him to be thoughtful, intelligent and quite pragmatic, just the person to clean up the mess in our school system.
And then school opened last week….
I am hoping that I wasn’t incorrect in my observation and that this busing fiasco isn’t indicative of a larger problem with his leadership.
It is INEXCUSABLE for children to be waiting for buses for hours in the morning AND at school in the afternoon.( I, like many others, twice had to leave work last week to drop off/pick up kids from two different schools). Not only were many parents seriously inconvenienced, but more importantly it is an incredible safety issue.
I am now being told that there is actually a shortage of buses because so many were sold due to their age, football teams were having to rent charter buses and vans to get to preseason games….are we really saving money??
If true, it sounds more like we are being “penny wise and dollar foolish”
August 30th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
How about a forum to discuss Broward’s school bus chief who fears for his safety?
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/fl-broward-transportation-department-20120830,0,1972890.story
Guess he realizes he shook things up.
August 31st, 2012 at 8:57 am
Runcie can cry sabotage, and maybe there is, but where was the oversight that could’ve caught it? What the heck was the transportation department doing all summer, to not have been practicing routes, and double-checking for accuracy? Did no one notice the buses just sitting in the yards? They’re big & yellow, kinda hard to miss!
Instead we have the insanity of pickup schedules being designed at the last possible second, and kids needing to be at the bus-stop at 4:52 am, or not getting picked up at all, because drivers are ping-ponging all across the county.
August 20th, 2012 was on the calendar as the start-date of school for many months, if not at least a year. The situation with transportation was clearly known to be messy, had been for years, so why wasn’t there oversight & double-checking??
I’m so grateful that my kid’s school year hasn’t been impacted, because I drive him myself. His grades would be suffering, otherwise. I feel for the kids and parents living this nightmare.
August 31st, 2012 at 9:16 am
FROM BUDDY:
I believe School Board member Patti Good summed up what she thought of Superintendent Robert Runcie’s excuse that he was sabotaged by union bus drivers and others:
“I don’t think good leaders are sabotaged.”
Runcie is paid a lot to anticipate situations and solve them before they become problems. That’s what a leader does.
August 31st, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Good leaders are sabotaged all the time in every walk of life. I could offer contemporary examples of just that.
Sabotage does not care whether the target is a good leader or not. It occurs out of self-preservation responding to the needs of the saboteur. It is empty and naive rhetoric to say otherwise and defies common sense.
Change threatens the status quo in bureaucracies causing those with a stake in the status quo to rebel. It takes a very naive person to dismiss that reality. True public service achieves objectives irrespective of impact to self. For sure, that is not the dynamic in place at the school transportation department.
If we truly have an interest in finding out what occurred there then get an independent and capable observer to go in there examine the situation and report out findings.
FROM BUDDY:
I don’t doubt there was some sabotage. The proof, so far, is lacking.
Your idea about an independent examination of the situation is a good one.
August 31st, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Interesting Good and Ruppert are tied at the hip to lobbyists henry rose and david brown. One has to wonder why they wont give runcie a fair shot. Maybe their lobbyist friends are looking for a more friendly superintendent?
August 31st, 2012 at 3:37 pm
@ Gloria Moorwood
A point of clarification for you: Ann Murray worked at the Southern Transportation Depot in Pembroke Pines.
If you had bothered to read up on things, you would know that most of the problems reflected in the media occurred at the NORTH facility in Pompano Beach. (See attached Sun_Sentinel article)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/fl-broward-transportation-department-20120830,0,1972890.story
Blaming Ann Murray, it us both unwarranted and inappropriate.
August 31st, 2012 at 9:21 pm
I can’t believe what I am reading! Who is protecting these people???why is everything swept under the rug in this county???
September 1st, 2012 at 6:59 pm
what garbage…runcie and crony ex-military can’t manage and its union,greedy employees and board members fault
September 2nd, 2012 at 2:37 pm
http://www.grovermonroe.com/page3.html
link above to website for a SBBC candidate in district 5 that did not get elected, or in the run-off.
Surprise! he is a bus driver. Are you sure the rank and file/union of bus drivers and other transport dept. people are not contributing to the bus route snafus? What compelled Grover Monroe to run? There must be dissension in that dept. and they thought a seat on the SBBC would preserve their interests?
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:37 am
Seems Boston is wrestling with the same school bus route disasters. They are blaming it on a computer software program. Really?
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012/09/02/boston-schools-under-pressure-avoid-repeat-late-bus-fiasco/O0Yn3ETmgfMMql29KT4ApI/story.html