Therapy dogs have played a big part in the healing at Marjory Stomeman Douglas High in Parkland this past year, so it’s fitting each one got a listing in the
@AerieYearbook
.
Feeling overwhelmed & grateful. But also sad that we won the greatest journalism award — the Pulitzer — because of a tragedy that never should happened.
.
@Cameron_kasky
tells St. Pete crowd that Democrats should be the "party of love. When you look at people who disagree with you & you treat them like they are subhuman just b/c they like guns or they don't like abortions, it's going nowhere."
I just got barred from entering the Stoneman Douglas meeting. I was told it was only open to parents of 10th graders and elected officials. I just saw
@davidhogg111
walk in. Not sure which one he is.
“He should rot, that’s how I feel,”
@fred_guttenberg
said. “My daughter was one of the last to be shot. My daughter absolutely could have been saved by him and she wasn’t.” — via
@talanez
The front page of today’s Sun Sentinel. The lead story describes the lengths Broward schools go to to keep details of the Parkland shooting quiet. Great job
@megomatz
and
@BrittanyWallman
Florida school districts are turning in false safety reports to the state. Arsons, kidnapping, sex abuse & even murder are disappearing. This is a 3-month investigation I did (while also covering other stories) w/ database editor John Maines.
FL Gov candidate
@RepDeSantis
has lambasted the Broward school district for giving large raises to 11 administrators. He even suggested the managers should pay the money back.
“These books are not being banned from the schools,” a Moms for Liberty parent says. She said you can still get the books at public library or Amazon.
But isn’t that still being banned from schools? No one’s saying Amazon is banning books, Schools are.
My heart breaks to report my wonderful dad Woody Travis, the most generous men I’ve ever known, died of a heart attack this morning. I just talked to him Thursday for his 85th birthday. I asked him if he got any nice gifts. He said, “I got a call from you.” I’ll miss you dad.
The musical spirit of Parkland victim Alex Schachter’s, son of
@maxschachter
, lives on as 50 kids get trombones in his name - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
@fastpup
@SunSentinel
I don’t know why on earth businesses ever charge for their products and services. It’s like they want to have money to operate and pay their employees or something.
The on-again, off-again
@browardschools
mask policy is on again, and could be for a while.
@ReverendRos
said she’s going to vote to keep it in place for the start of the year.
Jaw-dropping video of Broward School Board member Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter was murdered at Stoneman Douglas, complaining about shabby treatment from district & Board member Robin Bartleman's emotional defense of her.
Sheriff who heads
#StonemanDouglas
safety commission warns Broward & other school boards: Get armed security in place by start of school or “resign, pack your bags, your done” if there’s a tragedy. Broward meets on issue 11 am Mon.
“It just blows me away how this tragedy has touched this many people around the world,”
@maxschachter
said. “It’s touched our lives. To honor Alex is just unbelievable.”
4 top Broward school administrators have recently left or plan to leave:. The 1st was Police Chief Robert Hutchinson, who said in Sept. his last day will be Jan. 19. I received copy of his resignation letter today.
My
@Sunsentinel
life is about to change. After 22 yrs of covering education (5+ focused on
@Browardschools
), I've been promoted to a watchdog reporter job, with a focus on Palm Beach County. I'll still cover schools until they replace me. so no need to stop the news tips yet.
At today’s
@browardschools
Brd meeting, student
@jaydendonofrio
voiced some very serious concerns about anti-Semitism & vandalism at Western High. The moment also gave new interim Supt. Earlean Smiley a chance to show off her leadership, and many say she handled it beautifully.
Scott Neely, principal at Cypress Bay High since it opened in 2002, will retire sometime in fall 2019, Laurie Rich Levinson announces. There will be a yet-to-be-announced co-principal in fall semester. Levinson called Neely "a fixture & icon in the community."
Yes, PR consultant Sara Brady is talking about me, especially since multiple people keep reassuring me today how nice & fresh I smell. It should be noted I have never met her, so there’s no scents to any of this.
The Parkland tragedy has left a grieving community demanding answers and action — two things some say Supt Runcie has been slow to provide. Check out my in-depth analysis of where he stands..
"The court motion is the latest effort by the school district to carefully control what information is made public about the school shooting that injured 34 people, killing 17 of them."
A School Board member asked me yesterday if I was gaining weight - the same day a story revealed some school PR folks thought I smelled bad. This morning, after a thorough wash with my Caress Daily Silk bar, I stepped on the scale and guess what? I’m down 2 lbs.
I’m happy to announce my
@browardschools
coverage earned me a 1st place state award for education reporting. The Florida Press Club honored me tonight for several investigations, including ones on the Recordex deal & a charter school no one knew existed—not even those attending.
Just to clarify. I will not be headlining at this hip hop festival (or the Super Bowl) so don't ask me for tickets. Rolling Loud 2019 lineup: Travis Scott, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Migos
.
@kennethrpreston
, friend of
@PollackHunter
asks board why Hunter never received answer from district after asking at hearing what failures led to Meadow dying at
#StonemanDouglas
. He had Hunter on speaker. Board lets clock silently run out before turning off his mike.
As a college student in 1993, I identified the
@SunSentinel
as a place I wanted to work. The response then wasn’t encouraging, as my rejection letter shows. But all changed 6 years later. I was hired, and they can’t seem to get rid of me. Today marks my 22nd anniversary.
An interview with 2 of the young conservative voices of Parkland:
@PollackHunter
, brother of Meadow, &
@KyleKashuv
, who is probably the most famous conservative high school student in the U.S. via
@YouTube
People died at
#stonemandouglas
b/c school failed to implement a simple security measure that had been recommended twice to teachers & administrators, according to testimony Wednesday.
Two Broward School Board members,
@Nora_Rupert
and
@lorialhadeff
told me today they support terminating the contract of Supt. Robert Runcie, saying his leadership has been poor, especially post-Parkland.
I’m remembering my dad in heaven on his birthday today. He died two days after his birthday a year ago. As I shared last year, I called him on that last birthday and asked if he got any nice gifts. He said, “I got a call from you,”
Runcie says he’s not worried about DeSantis or other leaders calling for his removal. Recites stars saying school grades have improved. He doesn’t use stats since he started. (Grades are worse) but in last 2 or 3 years after school grades dropped dramatically.
“He’s not a cop. Any man that would stand there while innocent children and teachers are being slaughtered for 45 min, I’m not surprised he wouldnt show up,”
@rpetty
says of Scot Peterson.
@maxschachter
calls him “despicable.”
.
@KyleKashuv
you mentioned the Sun Sentinel story from this weekend got no national attention. Looks like it did. Not one of my favorite media folks but you may appreciate him.
A
@browardschools
committee will discuss issues related to the district's Promise program at 1 p.m. Thursday. Looks like the district forgot to place this on their website calendar. Why does that seem to happen so often when committees discuss controversial topics? Hmm.
Help is available: If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. You will be connected to a certified crisis center near you.
I won! Thanks to
@FLPressClub
for the first place award in education writing. I won for 3
@browardschools
stories related to caps and gowns, the data breach and the shoddy upkeep of elevators.
#StonemanDouglas
was warned about the safety of its freshman building as early as 2008 — before it even opened, a former teacher at the Parkland school alleges in a lawsuit.
Thank you to the Florida Society of News Editors for honoring me with The Paul Hansell Award for Distinguished Achievement in Florida Journalism.
The late Paul Hansell was a long-time Associated Press bureau chief in Florida. I share the award with
@Scott_Maxwell
.
As we get ready to accept the Public Service
#Pulitzer
May 28, I’ll be sharing
@sunsentinel
work that made it possible. In Unprepared & Overwhemed,
@aric_chokey
created a stunning interactive detailing many Stoneman Douglas failures.
#Journalismmatters
The MSD shooter was a participant in the program. He just didn’t complete it. He did intake but never showed up after 1st day. The district’s record keeping was poor & they’ve never been able to explain why he failed to complete it or why he wasn’t referred to state atty.
This article is misleading! The shooter was not a participant in the PROMISE program. Moreover, the MSD Commission, which is the entity charged with investigating the tragedy, has stated that PROMISE is irrelevant and inconsequential to the tragedy. 2 of 2
Trespassing wasn’t new at
#stonemandouglas
. In 2015, Aaron Feis caught a trespasser inside the 1200 building on campus. In 2016, Chris Hixon caught someone enter a teacher’s classroom. Both were killed by a trespasser Feb. 14.
If DeSantis strips School Board members of salaries for defying DeSantis' mask rules,
@ReverendRos
said, "I guess I'll go to my community to set up a GoFundMe or work at McDonald's. At least I'll be able to have a moral conscience and know I didn't put someone's life at risk."
A special thank you to family members of the 17 angels. You didn’t like every story we wrote or every decision we made, but you appreciated our greater purpose to find answers. Our
#Pulitzer
is dedicated to the 17 who paid the ultimate price so we can all have safer schools.
8 Broward school employees congratulated me on Pulitzer today, 3 who weren’t fans (at least publicly) of my work. 1 administrator even said, “well deserved.” And no School Board member bashed me on the dais or called me “fake news.”. Needless to say, I felt out of place.
A school district employee just stopped me in the
@browardschools
lobby. "Are you Scott Travis? I only subscribe to the Sun Sentinel because of you. I'm a major fan. Thank you for being our voice."
I won't name this employee, since comments like that may be a fireable offense.
I got interviewed by a middle school girl for a class project yesterday. Just when I got used to a softball line of questioning, the kid goes for the jugular. “Why do you think you make so many typos?”
.
@fred_guttenberg
says "I'm frustrated as hell what is happening to make this about color and socioecomic status. this is about seucirty. Mr. Runcie I have been really respectful but iv'e also called for your resignation."
So Stoneman Douglas already has 2 principals, Ty Thompson and Theresa Hall. We're told popular former Principal Dan Praeger is coming back to help at the school too. Does that mean 3 principals? I'm inquring.
Broward County schools lost track of Nikolas Cruz’s whereabouts in 2013, making it difficult to know whether he completed or even attended the district’s PROMISE program.
Parkland parent Doug Kruse who has been on Parkland's education advisory board reportedly told Runcie "Give us a small measure of comfort, give us a small measure of peace.... resign tonight."
EXCLUSIVE: A
@browardschools
Board member stayed at a cap & gown vendor’s beach house with her kids on at least 2 occasions. Last week, she voted to oppose rejecting his contract, despite complaints he overcharged parents & ran a monopoly.
Ron DeSantis told Tony Man (
@Browardpolitics
) in August that while he wants Broward Supt. Robert Runcie removed, he doesn't think he can do it. Does he still feel the same way? We'll find out today if he believes that's the case.
BREAKING NEWS: Broward Schools HR Chief Craig Nichols becomes the 3rd top administrator to resign in recent weeks. Nichols was embroiled in the Andrew Medina scandal. Story to be posted soon. Check out this angry letter he fired off to Runcie in Sept.
The Broward School Board voted to keep a
#StonemanDouglas
coach with issues of sexually harassment teens on the job. They probably didn’t know what they were agreeing to.