Ryan Nicol
Broward County School Board Member Lori Alhadeff added nearly $67,000 in her first month since filing for reelection in the Broward County School Board District 4 race.
Alhadeff boosted that number with a $50,000 self-loan and adding close to $17,000 in outside donations. According to her team, she has nearly all of that $67,000 haul on hand as of June 30.
Alhadeff lost her daughter, Alyssa, in the 2018 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School. Alhadeff ran for and won the District 4 seat just months later, pushing the county to institute reform after the attack in Parkland, which killed 17 and injured 17 others.
The district spans the northwestern part of the county, including Coral Springs, Margate, North Lauderdale, Parkland and Tamarac.
“Over the course of the past three years, we have come a long way toward making schools safer and improving the overall quality of our public education system,” Alhadeff said in a June statement announcing her intention to seek a second term.
“I intend to keep us moving in the right direction by always putting the needs of students first and ensuring that teachers have the resources they require to succeed.”
After winning the District 4 seat, Alhadeff worked to oust Superintendent Robert Runcie, arguing the district did not do enough to keep students safe ahead of and during the 2018 attack.
A 2019 vote to remove Runcie, backed in part by Alhadeff, failed. But earlier this year, Runcie announced his decision to step aside as Superintendent after facing charges of lying to a grand jury investigating school safety issues throughout the state. Runcie said his decision was in part influenced by families who lost loved ones in the Stoneman Douglas shooting.
“I will step aside so you can have the peace that you are looking for,” Runcie said.
Alhadeff has lobbied for legislation to reduce the threat of violence in schools. The Legislature approved a 2020 bill creating Alyssa’s Alert system, named after Alhadeff’s daughter. The state approved $8 million in funding to help schools set up mobile panic alert systems, which can be used during a crisis event.
