Could Runcie be out as schools head?
Robert Runcie’s future as superintendent of the nation’s sixth-largest school district could be in jeopardy.
School board members wouldn’t immediately commit to whether they’d fire him after his arrest on perjury charges in connection with a statewide grand jury probe into the district.
General Counsel Barbara Myrick also was charged with sharing grand jury information outside the proceeding.
The School Board has the power to remove Runcie, but the governor does not because Runcie is appointed, not elected. Some school board members moved for his dismissal after the Parkland school shooting in 2018, but he survived the challenges.
Unable to reach anyone by phone Wednesday, board member Nora Rupert was seeking to get answers from staff.
“I believe staff is looking at Mr. Runcie’s contract, but we certainly need to call an emergency meeting of the school board” to discuss who will fill in for him and what happens next, she said.
She said Runcie, like everyone else charged with a crime, is “innocent until proven guilty. I need to understand the charges and Mr. Runcie’s contract.”
She said she wants to “discuss with my colleagues in a public forum.”
School Board member Debbi Hixon said: “We are still trying to process what has happened and how to move forward. No decisions regarding that have been made as of now.”
She said she could not make a decision “until I get all the information. I want to make sure we are doing what is in the best interest of our students and staff.”
The governor’s office was staying out of it Wednesday, saying “at this point, this is a matter for law enforcement and the courts,” said spokesman Cody McCloud.
Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed when he ran for office to hold local officials accountable for the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but he said in January 2019 that he doesn’t have the authority to remove Runcie from his job.
“I remember this came up during the campaign,” DeSantis said. “I actually went back and looked at the statute and it seemed pretty clear to me that the statute applied to countywide elected officials and that it didn’t apply on its face to appointed officials. That has been the balance of the advice that I have gotten since then.”