Broward Schools interim superintendent Vickie Cartwright, right, and board member Lori Alhadeff speak before the start of the meeting at the Kathleen C. Wright Administration Building in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 12. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Broward School Board not ready to keep interim chief Cartwright long-term

South Florida Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis | October 12, 2021

Vickie Cartwright isn’t Broward’s permanent schools’ superintendent — at least not yet.

The School Board voted 6 to 3 Tuesday to reject a request by member Nora Rupert to forgo a national superintendent search and immediately offer the long-term job to Cartwright, who has been interim superintendent since Aug. 1.

But they voiced support to take out a provision that prohibits her from applying for the permanent job.

Board members praised Cartwright’s leadership but some said it was too soon to determine whether she is the best choice long-term for the district, which has struggled with dwindling enrollment, poor student achievement, a grand jury investigation and battles with state agencies over mask mandates and safety issues.

They also worried about the perception of a bait and switch, because the job posting and Cartwright’s contract prohibit the interim superintendent from applying for the job permanently.

“For me this feels way too rushed,” Board member Lori Alhadeff said. “We owe it to public and public trust to go through the hiring process as we stated before.”

Cartwright, who previously served as superintendent for the tiny Oshkosh, Wisc., district, as well as associate superintendent in Orange County in Central Florida, agreed to the requirement that she not apply for the permanent job.

But Rupert, who had a tense relationship with previous Superintendent Robert Runcie, said Cartwright has done a great job, and the district needs stability.

“She’s brought forth positivity that was lacking. We have a more cohesive board than I’ve seen before,” Rupert said. “She’s a relationship builder. When she says something, she does something.”

The vote wasn’t predictable. Although Rupert is often aligned with Alhadeff, Sarah Leonardi and Debbi Hixon, they also voted against, although they supported allowing Cartwright to apply.

Joining Rupert was Donna Korn and Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood, neither of whom voted in July to hire Cartwright, but now say the district is dealing with too much uncertainty. They said the district has lost many administrators and has struggled to recruit new ones, and they said it’s because applicants don’t know how long Cartwright will stay.

“This district is very, very wounded,” Osgood said. “We are in a crisis. We’re in a dilemma. What we continue to hear when other groups meet about us is a lack of urgency.”