Broward College has a new President: Torey Alston, a former appointed member of the Broward County School Board, who beat out one finalist for the job.

The college’s Board of Trustees unanimously selected Alston — whom voters ousted from the School Board last August, two years after his installation there by Gov. Ron DeSantis — to lead the public institution.

Of note, all five members of the Broward College Board of Trustees are DeSantis appointees, too.

 “God is so good,” Alston, a Republican, said in a statement.

“As the son of two parents who attended community college including my father who completed the police academy forty years ago from then-Broward Community College, I know the value of the state college system first-hand.”

Alston’s selection is the latest in a series of leadership changes at the top level of the college. He takes over for Donald Astrap, a 10-year administrator of the school who was named Interim President in May 2024 after then-Acting President Barbara Bryan confirmed she would not extend her six-month contract. Bryan, in turn, succeeded ex-President Gregory Haile, who resigned in September 2023 after five and a half years as President.

Broward College officially launched its search for a new permanent President in April 2024. Trustees soon set their eyes on Henry Mack III, a chancellor in the Department of Education, but Mack declined the job just hours after being offered it.

The panel ultimately whittled down its list of candidates to two. On Friday, they picked Alston over co-finalist Jose Llontop, an investor and building materials executive who lives in Washington, D.C.

Alston’s nearly two decades of government work included stints at the Governor’s Office, an Executive Director post at the state Office of Supplier Diversity, and Chief of Staff positions in Broward County and at the Florida Department of Transportation.

DeSantis appointed Alston to the Broward County Commission in November 2021. Alston left for the School Board less than a year later. He also serves as Executive Director and CEO of the Greater Miami Expressway Authority, which oversees Miami-Dade County’s five toll roads.

Before working in education in Broward, Alston worked for three years at Miami-Dade County Public Schools as the district’s Executive Director of Economic Opportunity and as an economic equity and diversity compliance officer. He also served on the Board of Trustees for Florida A&M University.

Public servants from both sides of the aisle celebrated Alston’s appointment Friday. Tallahassee Democratic state Rep. Frank Gallop, the Ranking Member of the House Higher Education Budget Subcommittee, recalled working alongside Alston on the FAMA Board.

“(He) still carries that same passion for education today,” Gallop said in a statement. “He would be a great college President.”

House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, said Alston has “a bold vision for Broward College and its students, and he will be a phenomenal college President.”

Similar plaudits came from Miami-Dade School Superintendent Jose Dotres; Dotres’ predecessor in the job, Alberto Carvalho; Broward School Board member Brenda Fam; Broward County Commissioner Robert McKinzie; and Adrian Lukis, DeSantis’ former Chief of Staff.

Alexis Yarbrough, Chair of the Broward College Board of Trustees, said Alston and Llontop were both “very strong candidates,” but “Alston’s legislative experience, coupled with his relationships in the community made him the obvious choice.”

But some disagreed the choice is cause for celebration. Andrea Apa, a senior professor at Broward College and the school’s President of the United Faculty of Florida said the process lacked transparency and did not appropriately consider a complaint against Alston.

She noted in an op-ed published by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Alston still faces a complaint over alleged self-dealing while on the School Board. The complaint, filed with the State Ethics Commission in July by School Board member Allen Zeman, accuses Alston of advocating for more than $100 million in funding for charter schools before disclosing that his wife did business with some of them.

“Faculty and employees have left Broward College at a higher rate in the past two years than ever in the history of the institution … creating the highest student-faculty ratio among nine comparable state colleges, (and) faculty compensation at Broward College has increased only 0.03% over the past nine years while neighboring institutions like Palm Beach State College and Valencia College have gone up 14.7% and 16.9%, respectively,” she wrote.

“The allegations against Alston raise legitimate questions about his ability to lead ethically and address these challenges.”

Broward College serves roughly 56,000 students annually, according to its website. It was established in 1959 as the Junior College of Broward County, renamed Broward Junior College in 1968 and Broward Community College in 1970. It was rechristened Broward College in 2008.

Today, the school operates across three main campuses and several additional centers across the county, with an approximate annual budget of $221 million.

Post Views: 0

Law enforcement officers and correctional officers could have certain complaints lodged against them kept off their records if a new bill filed Thursday passes.

Miami Lakes Republican Rep. Tom Fabricio’s measure (HB 317) would exempt records of any investigations made into complaints against a law enforcement officer or a correctional officer from their personnel file under certain conditions.

Complaints filed against officers would be required to be given under oath and submitted in writing, and if an officer is subject to an interrogation that could lead to disciplinary action, then all information related to the investigation would have to be given to the officer or their representative before any interrogation into the allegations could begin, according to the bill.

That would include the names of the person or persons who filed the complaint, all witness statements, and any supporting evidence such as incident reports, GPS locator information, and video and audio recordings.

Florida statute currently states, “all information obtained pursuant to the investigation by the agency of the complaint is confidential,” and is exempt from public record until the investigation “ceases to be active” or until the agency decides whether to file charges against the officer.

The measure would amend that statute, adding that the officer be “provided a copy of the complaint signed by the complainant under oath before the effective date of the action.”

Current law already allows officers facing disciplinary action the right to address the findings with their respective agency heads before any disciplinary action can be imposed.

However, the new measure would allow such records to be left out of an officer’s personnel file if the investigation into their conduct did not end in disciplinary action. Furthermore, the existence of the investigation would not affect an officer’s ability to be promoted, get a pay raise, or receive a commendation.

Under the bill, the contents of both the complaint and the investigation would remain confidential until a final determination is made by investigators. The bill does not guarantee continued employment for officers under investigation.

The bill would further protect law enforcement and correctional officers protections by establishing penalties against those who make false complaints. Under the bill, someone found guilty of filing a false complaint could be charged with a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

If passed, the bill would become law on July 1.

Post Views: 0