Former Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie avoids trial as perjury charge tied to Parkland probe is dropped
On the day jury selection was set to begin, a felony perjury charge against former Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie was dropped by the state attorney's office.
Runcie was indicted in April 2021, accused of lying to a statewide grand jury that investigated events surrounding the 2018 Parkland high school massacre, which left 17 people dead.
Agreement avoids trial, ends four-year legal battle
Four years later, Runcie and prosecutors reached a resolution in which he acknowledged making untrue statements but did not admit to perjury. As part of the agreement, Runcie must pay prosecution costs and avoid any violations of the law for six months.
Runcie's attorney, Mike Dutko, called the resolution "a great relief."
"While Mr. Runcie has acknowledged that some of the responses he gave may have been unclear, our position had this proceeded to trial was that some of the questions themselves were not specific and therefore unclear," Dutko said. "The parties have come to an agreement that there was perhaps a lack of clarity on both sides." Dutko added the case had taken a personal toll on Runcie and his family, saying he had "been a rock for them."
Case tied to Parkland aftermath and $1 billion school safety bond
The grand jury's investigation focused in part on the management of a $1 billion bond approved by voters in 2014, four years before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
Runcie and other school officials had promoted the bond as a way to improve school safety, but grand jurors said in a scathing final report that it was marred by "uninformed or even misinformed decisions, incompetent management and lack of meaningful oversight."
Runcie accused of making false statements
Prosecutors alleged that Runcie made false statements to the grand jury when questioned about former technology chief Tony Hunter, who was indicted in 2021 on charges he accepted a bribe from a vendor tied to the bond project. Hunter pleaded not guilty, and a judge later dismissed his case on jurisdictional grounds.
Runcie had told grand jurors he hadn't contacted anyone about the Hunter case and that his only knowledge of the contract came from a years-old presentation. Prosecutors countered that Runcie had in fact discussed the matter with others, including former procurement director Mary Coker, just days before testifying.
Initial dismissal overturned by appeals court
In April 2023, Circuit Judge Martin Fein dismissed the perjury charge, ruling that the statewide grand jury lacked jurisdiction because Runcie had only testified in one county. Fein said if there was evidence of perjury, it should have been referred to Broward County prosecutors.
The state appealed, and in October 2024, the 4th District Court of Appeal reversed the dismissal, allowing the case to proceed, until Monday's decision to drop the charge.
Runcie served as Broward County's superintendent for 10 years. He officially stepped down on Aug. 10, 2021, amid mounting scrutiny over the school district's handling of security and its response to the grand jury's findings.
