Broward, Palm Beach school boards made right superintendent decisions
Last week, the Palm Beach County School Board made the right decision on the district’s interim superintendent.
This week, the Broward County School Board backed away from the wrong decision on the district’s interim superintendent.
In Palm Beach, Mike Burke got the job on a permanent basis. In Broward, Vickie Cartwright will get the chance to apply. Though each became the interim leader about three months ago and had drawn praise from board members, their cases were very different.
Burke has been with the district for 23 years, most recently as chief financial officer. From 2012 to 2016, he served as both CFO and chief operating officer. Though his background is in finance, not academics, Burke understands where money must go to achieve the best results in the classroom.
When Burke became the interim leader, the board made clear that he was a candidate for the permanent job. When he got it, the vote was unanimous.
In contrast, Cartwright had no history in Broward before the board chose her — on a split vote — to take over after the forced resignation of Robert Runcie. Cartwright’s last job was as superintendent in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. That district has about 10,000 students. Broward has about 270,000.
When the board hired Cartwright, her contract stipulated that she could not apply to be the permanent superintendent. The board majority wanted a national search with community input.
Nora Rupert, however, asked for a vote
Tuesday on giving Cartwright the job. Rupert cited the praise Cartwright has received from teachers. Union president Anna Fusco asked the board to pick Cartwright, citing her “grace and dignity.”
We can understand Rupert’s thinking. Many districts are looking for superintendents. Candidates must balance the appeal of running the nation’s sixth-largest school district against the fact that Broward County is in Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran long have supported charter schools and voucher programs over traditional public schools and traditional public-school funding. The Board of Education just fined Broward over the district’s mask policy. Florida was the last state to apply for federal money that districts can use to reduce the risk of COVID-19 on campus.
But as board member Lori Alhadeff said, choosing Cartwright would be “way too rushed.” Others noted that doing so would cut out any community involvement and undercut the board’s credibility.
It also would have hurt Cartwright’s credibility. Given Broward’s history, the public legitimately could have wondered whether she had agreed to secret deals — hire this person, fire that one — in exchange for board support. One speaker mentioned rumors that Cartwright could not have been able to pick the staff she wanted.
And, after all, she had agreed not to apply.
Board members tried for a compromise. They voted 6-3 against hiring Cartwright but agreed to consider amending her contract so that she could apply to be superintendent. That could happen next week. Meanwhile, the search will continue.
Even that compromise presents problems. A hiring decision could be six months away, given how slowly the search firm is moving. Cartwright will have that time to continue building goodwill, which could discourage outsiders from applying.
Still, as we have written previously, Cartwright should not act simply as a caretaker. And Cartwright, as we have also written, performed impressively last week by defending the district’s mask mandate to the Board of Education.
The next few months will be Cartwright’s audition. By spring, she may have reached the point where her hiring could go as easily as Burke’s did.
Like their Broward counterparts, Palm Beach County School Board members understood that this is a tough time to be looking for a superintendent. They also know from experience that searches don’t always provide long-term leaders.
In 2015, after a national search, the board hired Robert Avossa. He left abruptly less than three years later. Avossa’s top assistant, Donald Fennoy, became superintendent almost by default. He resigned this year.
Burke’s appointment has been “seamless,” said Board Chairman Frank Barbieri. “I’ve heard nothing but positive comments. He’s had great acceptance from the (teachers union) and principals.” Burke’s background also gives him standing with business groups.
On Tuesday, Broward board members spoke of “process.” It’s an overused word, but it applies in this case. Hiring Vickie Cartwright may be the right choice someday. It would not have been the right choice now.
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