Broward school district announces national search for permanent superintendent
Broward County Public Schools announced Monday that it is launching a national search for a permanent superintendent to replace Robert Runcie, who resigned after his statewide grand jury indictment in April.
The School Board hired Vickie Cartwright in July to serve as an interim superintendent, but there was a stipulation she would not be a permanent hire.
That changed when the School Board voted last week to let her apply for the job. Cartwright’s annual salary is $275,000.
The choice over the summer was between Cartwright and Robert Schiller. Schiller, 74, from Stuart, made a career as an interim executive in the public and private sector. He transitioned several large urban school districts in their search for a permanent superintendent.
Prior to taking the interim post, Cartwright, 50, was the superintendent of public schools in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Her background also includes being an associate superintendent for Exceptional Learning Education for Orange County Public Schools in the Orlando area.
School board members have generally backed her in Broward’s battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Department of Education over mandating masks in schools. The district has defied a DeSantis order that says parents, not school districts, should have the final say on masks; the district contends it’s responsible for keeping its students safe.
The state has withheld more than $500,000 in funds from the Broward district over the issue and the U.S. Department of Education has countered with a suit against Florida.
On Monday, the district announced it has hired a company to create a website to inform the public about the search process.
The district has also initiated a survey “seeking input on the qualities that are most important to stakeholders in a superintendent,” the district said in a press release.
The survey is scheduled to close at 8 a.m. Nov. 15; it can be found at browardschools.com /SuperSearch.
A virtual focus group has also been scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 9, according to the district. Another meeting of the focus group is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 10.
Registration for each meeting can also be found at browardschools.com /SuperSearch.