Dr. Larry Murray

A former 60's hippie with a strong belief in capitalism, Dr. Murray obtained his Ph.D. in American History in 1970 and went on to, in his own words, ‘publish and perish,’ teaching at colleges and universities while publishing in professional journals. Now Dr. Murray is a tireless community activist, focusing primarily on the administration of the public schools in Monroe County. Hands down, Larry has made more public records requests to the school district than anyone else – ever - something he describes as “the equivalent of pulling teeth” or, as some have put it, "herding cats". Pushing for the best schools possible, he pokes and prods, urging the School District, as often as not, to simply follow its own rules and regulations, not do something unique and different. More Articles by Larry Murray . More Articles by Larry Murray prior to November, 2014.

An Open Letter to Superintendent Porter / Confusion vs. Contradiction

Dec 042015

Superintendent Porter: I found your comments last week on Bill Becker’s “Morning Magazine” about finances at the HOB daycare operation to be confusing, if not contradictory. You told Becker that you thought it perfectly appropriate, without explanation, not to inform the School Board, the State Attorney or anyone else for that matter when HOB Principal Mike Henriquez told you a year ago about financial problems, if not irregularities, with the HOB daycare operation. Rather, you took it upon yourself to conduct an internal investigation sotto voce. [continue reading…]

Superintendent Releases Finance Department’s Review of Missing $20,000 in HOB Daycare Program Funds

Nov 302015

Commentary by Dr. Larry Murray……. I have read what is purportedly the Finance Department’s review of the HOB Daycare Program. I say “purportedly” because the document is untitled, undated and incomplete. As best I can tell, the document was drafted sometime after February 25, 2015, although the date August, 2015 does appear in the document. There is no indication as to who authored the document or to whom it was submitted. In short, the document is confusing and most unprofessional. As a legal statement, it [continue reading…]

November 30, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 7:16 pm * Featured Story *, ** BREAKING NEWS **, Dr. Larry Murray 1 Response »

Leading the Way

Oct 162015

Dear Editor, The Monroe County School District is plotting and planning the construction of two new facilities, Plantation Key School and Gerald Adams School, and significant upgrades at Switlik School in Marathon. The total cost of these three projects could easily reach $100 million, no small sum. Ideally, these new schools should be operational for 30-50 years or well into the middle of the 21st century. That being the case, should not these schools be the state of the art, not a carbon copy of [continue reading…]

October 16, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:44 am Issue #136, Letter to the Editor No Responses »

Are Your Children Safe In School?

Oct 022015

by Dr. Larry Murray……. Are your children safe in the Monroe County Schools? The School District, understandably, certainly wants parents to believe that. According to a recent article in the Citizen, Michael Michaud, the District’s Security and Safety Coordinator, said that the main focus of maintenance activity over the summer was to make the schools safer. “The biggest two things we’ve been working on are perimeter fencing and getting all of the school cameras functioning.” Laudatory goals indeed, but how successful was the District in [continue reading…]

October 2, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:56 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #134 2 Responses »

The Best Paid Teachers in the State

Sep 182015

by Dr. Larry Murray……. There has been a lot of interest lately in government and quasi-government entities and the number of employees paid six figure salaries. FKAA has aroused particular attention for the number of employees paid over $100,000. Amidst all of this, no one has mentioned the School District. I suspect that MCSD has more personnel drawing six figure salaries than any of its competitors. In late August, the School District decided that it was time to reward with raises its 54 top [continue reading…]

September 18, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:52 am * Featured Story *, Dr. Larry Murray 3 Responses »

Controlled Burns

Sep 182015

Dear Editor, Bob Dylan tells us that “It doesn’t take a weatherman to tell which way the wind is blowing.” Were that true for everyone! The staff at the Key Deer Refuge, particularly the controlled burn unit, has had its problems over the years determining which way the wind is blowing. In September, 2011, Key Deer management planned a 18 acre controlled burn just north and west of the Blue Hole. During the burn, the wind shifted and over 100 acres was scorched. At one [continue reading…]

September 18, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:50 am Issue #132, Letter to the Editor No Responses »

WILL CARS BE NEXT? An Open Letter to Monroe County Commissioners

Aug 072015

Will Cars Be Next? by Dr. Larry Murray….. There appears to be a growing belief in Monroe County that government has a responsibility to provide “affordable housing” for a select group of people. That group invariably includes police and fire (first responders), teachers and nurses. I am not entirely sure why these occupations are singled out for government assistance in that most of them have starting salaries in excess of $40,000/yr. with rapid increases after that. Be that as it may, if government is expected [continue reading…]

August 7, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:32 am Dr. Larry Murray, Editorial, Issue #126 1 Response »

Open Letter to Andy Griffiths and The School Board

Jul 312015

Andy: GOOD NEWS: This year, the College Board provided the “numeric scores” in mid-July, not September, for all 17 AP classes offered in the School District. That change in dates should be of great help to the School Board next year in determining whether or not to extend the NMSI contract in August. There will be no need to use “leading indicators” to determine the success or failure of the NMSI program in improving student performance as the College Board’s “numeric scores” will be in [continue reading…]

July 31, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:36 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #125 2 Responses »

An Open Letter To State Attorney Catherine Vogel

Jul 102015

I need your help. Specifically, I need your help in convincing Superintendent of Schools Mark Porter and the Monroe County School District to comply with Florida law and fulfill my public records requests. You have some awareness of this situation because I began copying you recently on my correspondence with the District and its representatives. On May 30, 2015, I filed three public records requests with the District. One was an original request and two were follow-ups to previous requests. The District promptly acknowledged the [continue reading…]

July 10, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:30 am Issue #122, Letter to the Editor No Responses »

Show Me the Money, Part II

Jun 262015

by Dr. Larry Murray……. Since the publication of my article, “Show Me the Money”, additional information has come my way regarding the School District’s contractual agreement(s) with NMSI for assistance with broadening participation and increasing scores in Advanced Placement classes. Perhaps the most important thing that I have learned is that no one really knows how much money the program will cost. There is general agreement that a whole lot of money is in play, 6 figures and perhaps 7 figures, but there is no [continue reading…]

June 26, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:44 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #120 No Responses »

Show Me The Money

Jun 122015

by Dr. Larry Murray……. The late Illinois Republican senator, Everett McKinley Dirksen, used to say something like: “A million here, a million there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” Such is the case with the Monroe County School District. Not so long ago, the housing bubble burst, property taxes plunged and School District revenues took a dive. While layoffs were avoided, contractually agreed upon raises were not honored as the District struggled to pay its bills. The teachers’ union complained and went to [continue reading…]

June 12, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:42 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #118 2 Responses »

What Am I Missing?

Jun 052015

An Open Letter to the School Board 1. A first grade teacher in Key Largo is found by a parent, not an administrator, to be under the influence in the classroom with an open container of alcohol in her desk. Makes you wonder how long this behavior has been going on? Because of years of loyal service, she is allowed to quietly resign, effective with the close of the school year, and presumably nothing in her personnel file to alert a future employer. 2. A [continue reading…]

June 5, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:24 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #117 1 Response »

Candy Coated School Accounting

Mar 132015

by Dr. Larry Murray… The next time a student comes by and asks you to buy something or otherwise financially support a school activity, ask how much money is in his school’s internal account. He will probably have no idea. In fact, he will probably not know what an internal account is. However, as a taxpayer, you should. Each school maintains an internal account in which it houses all the money from all those fundraisers from car washes to candy sales. The rules and regulations [continue reading…]

March 13, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 3:06 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #105 2 Responses »

“It Ain’t Never Going To Happen” / The Auditor General’s Annual Report and the School District’s Response

Feb 192015

by Dr. Larry Murray… The annual Auditor General’s audit of the School District is now available for review on the District’s website. Specifically, it is attached to the agenda for the School Board’s workshop held on February 10, 2015. I urge everyone to read it. It is not particularly long, but it is very informative. For the last month or more, Board Chairman John Dick and Superintendent Mark Porter have been bragging about the “clean” audit. Until very recently, the community had little choice but to believe them [continue reading…]

February 19, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 11:29 pm Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #102 No Responses »

Long Live The King

Feb 062015

Editor: The king is dead. Long live the king. Stuart Kessler, Chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee, has been removed and his seat is empty pending the announcement of a replacement by Andy Griffiths. Similarly, the terms of Roger McVeigh, Melissa Grady and Bill Andersen expired with the recent election and their seats are also vacant. Replacement in all three cases is problematic at best as the Board’s Bylaws & Policies state that “No member shall serve more than six (6) years, without a [continue reading…]

February 6, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:40 am Dr. Larry Murray, Letter to the Editor No Responses »

Why the $50,000 Payoff?

Jan 232015

Editor: School Board Chairman John Dick is telling anyone who will listen that the recent audit of the HOB construction project absolves Coastal Construction Co., Inc. of any wrongdoing, that in effect it is a clean audit that will please everyone. Of course, since the results of the audit have not been made public, there is no way to determine the accuracy or inaccuracy of Dick’s statements regarding the innocence of the contractor. You will pardon me if I am a little suspicious. As part [continue reading…]

January 23, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:55 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #98 No Responses »

An Open Letter To John Dick

Jan 092015

John: We need your help. More than ever, we need your help. When you were elected to the School Board, you made it your mission to restrain, ideally reduce, the size of the District administration. Generally speaking, you were successful and the voters rewarded you with reelection twice. A noteworthy exception to restraining administrative growth came early in the Porter administration when the Board acceded to the creation of a new, six-figure position—Executive Director of Operations and Planning. Superintendent Porter said that he needed someone [continue reading…]

January 9, 2015 Posted by Dr. Larry Murray at 12:20 am Dr. Larry Murray, Issue #96, Letter to the Editor 1 Response »

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