You would think that the Martin County School Board would be thrilled that Superintendent Nancy Kline, who has been in office less than a year, is cleaning house after both internal and independent investigations revealed long-standing shoddy, wasteful practices in the district’s finance, construction and maintenance departments.

You would be wrong.

According to memos from the state auditor general, the district paid bills without checking their accuracy, paid to repair equipment already under warranty, and time and again handed out contracts without seeking low bids. In response, Ms. Kline fired several employees, accepted the resignation of at least one other and ordered adherence to improved procedures. That and other reforms have saved the public $2 million so far.

Read the rest of the Post’s opinion piece here.

The Martin County School District motto is “Where Learning Has No Boundaries.” Given the war between the school board and superintendent, it’s also a place where pettiness and intrigue have no boundaries.

Fortunately, the district is small and affluent, blessed with parents who send their children to school well-equipped to learn. If the A-rated district were judged on civility and cohesion, it would be lucky to eke out a D. It’s a school district where:

School board members want the superintendent to shut up during board meetings;

Employees who try to expose misspending in the construction and maintenance divisions find themselves excoriated in public and their jobs placed in jeopardy;

A James Bond wannabe uses an e-mail alias to solicit help from school board members in an attempted coup against Superintendent Nancy Kline.

Read the rest of the Post’s editorial opinion piece.

STUART — It was “bizarre” for Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder to repeatedly pat the short, spiky haircut of Detective Jennifer Heard, her lawyer said, and he expects Heard’s sexual harassment complaint to lead to a federal discrimination suit.

“We fully expect to file a lawsuit and just litigate the matter,” said Justus Reid, a lawyer representing Heard. “The overall theme will be gender discrimination and, in effect, sexual harassment that went on in the department.”

Heard filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May alleging the sexual harassment against her began shortly after she was hired in September 1996 and continued for the next 12 years in the form of sexual advances, catcalls and a suggestive nickname. She also accused Crowder of belittling her by patting her on the head.
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Read the editorial board’s opinion about the case between Martin Memorial Medical Center and Luis Jimenez.