Contract dispute nearly sidelined Broward color guard teams. Now it’s resolved

After a period of uncertainty, Broward County Public Schools will be allowed to participate in color guard competitions this year.

A legal dispute between the Broward school district and WGI, a nonprofit youth organization that produces competitions for color guard, percussion and winds, over a contract almost prevented Broward schools from competing in WGI events they usually dominate in. On Sunday, WGI announced in a press release that both sides had come to an agreement.

WGI signed the agreement and the next step is for the Broward County School Board to vote to sign the contract at Tuesday’s meeting.

“With terms now finalized, participating groups can refocus on preparation, performance, and artistic growth,” the nonprofit wrote in a statement. “The resolution is particularly meaningful for participants—especially high school seniors—for whom the 2026 season represents their final opportunity to compete in WGI before graduation. Many performers have worked toward this milestone throughout their high school careers.”

School Board member Adam Cervera told the Herald on Monday that he will move to have the contract added to the Tuesday agenda for the board to vote on.

The news will come as a relief to Broward parents, students and school color guard directors who were concerned that their teams would be barred from participating in WGI events just weeks before major competitions began.

WGI and the school district entered in a three-year contract, called a master agreement, in 2022. That agreement allowed BCPS schools to participate in WGI events from 2023 to 2025. WGI and the school district began discussions to renew the contract in December.

But the two sides ran into serious disagreement over terms of the contract, so the school district held off on signing. On Jan. 30, Ron Nankervis, the WGI executive director, sent an email to school color guard directors warning that students may not be able to compete in the 2026 season of events because the school district had not yet signed the contract.

The email did not specify what details WGI and the school district disagreed on. Nankervis wrote that the school district staff “inserted contract language that our legal counsel has determined is not applicable to WGI or the services we provide to your schools,” and that the district declined a compromise.

Cervera told the Herald that there were two main sticking points. First, the school district wanted language in the contract that requires WGI to store sensitive student information (like date of births, student numbers, etc.) securely, which WGI said no to. Second, WGI wanted language in the contract that would allow the organization to “just terminate [the contract] whenever they want for any reason at any time,” Cervera said. BCPS said no to that due to concerns of teams not being reimbursed if WGI backed out of the agreement, he said.

Now, a deal has been reached. WGI agreed to certain “guardrails” to protect student information and there are “adequate legal protections embedded into the agreement,” Cervera said.

Following the Jan. 30 email, parents reached out to school board members urging them to have the district come to a resolution with WGI as soon as possible. Students were devastated to learn that they could be barred from competitions they worked hard all year fundraising and practicing for.

“Most importantly, people need to know when they have issues like this, they need to reach out to their board members,” Cervera said. “I apologize it took as long as it did because I know there was a lot of anxiety and a lot of angst that was happening, a lot of uncertainty, but I was happy to get involved, shine a light on this and help get it to the finish line.”

WGI thanked the school district in its statement for its collaboration. “The organization values its long-standing relationship with Broward County programs and looks forward to supporting participating schools throughout the 2026 season and beyond,” the nonprofit said.

This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 4:30 AM.