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Published on July 13, 2024
Broward County School Board Member Accused of Ethics Violations Amid $120M Charter School DealSource: Google Street View

The tides of discord have swept through the Broward County School Board as allegations of ethics violations are aimed at one of its own. Allen Zeman, a board member, has reportedly filed a complaint against colleague Torey Alston. The contention at the heart of the matter lies with Alston's behavior surrounding conversations about a substantial $120 million payment to Broward charter schools, a transaction in which Alston's family-owned company has a fiscal interest.

Zeman claims Alston engaged in advocating for the agenda item to pass, both in public and behind closed doors, before ultimately recusing himself from the vote – a sequence of events that Zeman asserts infringes upon Florida ethics laws. According to a complaint obtained by NBC6, "Torey Alston, as a member of the Broward County School Board, advocated multiple times in public and closed-door meetings for Broward County Schools to pay Broward charter schools roughly $120 million. At the same time, a company that he owned in 2022, and continues to be owned by an immediate family member, received revenue from at least one Broward County charter school."

When reached out for confirmation, Zeman admitted to filing the ethics complaint on Thursday. "Every time I see somebody break the law I report it,” Zeman told NBC6. The complaint Zeman filed is said to address Alston’s alleged conduct during five closed-door meetings and at least two school board meetings prior to his abstention from the vote.

Alston has retorted, suggesting that the motivations for these accusations are tainted by political maneuvering. "This was filed by my male colleague who used his right hand to hit a male district employee on the buttocks embarrassing him in front of other staff and witnessed by another board member? I’m not surprised my ethically and morally challenged colleague is attempting to rescue his former employee’s sinking campaign that isn’t focused on issues and our children," Alston said in a statement he texted to NBC6. Currently in the throes of contending for the District 2 seat, Alston paints the charge as an effort to impede a "young, qualified black man to remain on the school board," recognizing the entanglement of race in the optics of this electoral race.

The Florida Ethics Commission, when approached for comment, remained non-committal on the status of Zeman’s complaint, opting to adhere to a policy that prohibits acknowledging complaints until they are under official review. Other school board members have similarly chosen to abstain from the conversation, refraining from public comment on this developing fracas, as reported by NBC6.

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