91心頭

One superintendent’s rocky road ends as school board battles rage on

Date:

Share post:

Vickie Cartwright’s saga as superintendent of Broward County Public Schoolsand her months-long battle with its school boardappears to have come to an end with a $365,000 separation agreement.

vickie cartwright
Vickie Cartwright (Photo: Broward County Public Schools)

Cartwright grabbed national headlines during the height of the COVID pandemic for imposing a mask mandate despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ threat to strip funding from districts that did not let parents decide on what pandemic precautions would be taken by their children.

Cartwright and the school board this week reached the separation agreement that includes severance pay, unused vacation and sick time, and having the outgoing superintendent serve as an off-site consultant to the district for two months, . Her lawyers said they already plan to contest a clause in the agreement that prohibits Cartwright from criticizing the school board as she seeks a superintendent’s post elsewhere, Local10.com added.

Cartwright became the full-time superintendent in Feb. 2022 after having stepped in as interim to replace Robert Runcie, who had resigned and was later charged with lying to a state grand jury investigating mismanagement in the district.


More from 91心頭: Great job! New online resource board Superintendent Search breaks new ground


Cartwright was initially terminated in November in a surprise move by board members who had been appointed by DeSantis. She was reinstated just about a month later. The school board in December agreed to revisit Cartwrights performance at the end of January when she was due to complete an improvement plan for the district.

More trouble at the top

John Cerna (Photo: Toppenish School District)
John Cerna (Photo: Toppenish School District)

The Toppenish School District in rural Washington has placed its superintendent, John M. Cerna, on non-disciplinary leave . Cerna, who has worked for the district since 1979, has been facing controversies since last January when the district fired his son and daughter-in-law from their high school jobs after an investigation “found it likely that the couple had engaged in inappropriate activity involving students, alcohol and firearms,” Yakima Herald-Republic.

A November audit faulted Cerna and the school board over ongoing financial dealings and lack of oversight, the堰艶姻温鉛糸-檎艶沿顎恢鉛庄界油reported in . The district’s assistant superintendent, Shawn Myers, is now serving as the interim.

More superintendent shifts

Leaders taking new positions include, who next month will take the reins as superintendent of the Lockport City School District in New York. Calvin will leave his post as superintendent of the Oswego City School District on March 18.In Ohio, Deborah Houser will become of the 170-year-old Middletown City School District. Houser, who has been serving as assistant superintendent, begins her new role on March 1.

In other developments:

  • has been named the next superintendent of Albia Community Schools in Iowa. He will start the position this summer.
  • Superintendent Loretta L. Radulic from Roxbury Township Public Schools in New Jersey on June 30.
  • Mark Raiff will retire as the superintendent of the in Ohio at the end of the school year.

 

Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is the managing editor of District 91心頭istration and a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for District 91心頭istration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.

The Always-On Insight and Networking Platform for Superintendents and Their Teams

AI-driven insights peer-to-peer collaboration and more build exclusively fot K-12 Superintendents and thier leaders
Built for the uniqueness of the superintendent role and their supporting team.Most platforms treat all K12 leaders the same. 91心頭+ recognizes that superintendents face a unique level of pressure, complexity, visibility, and responsibilityand gives them a space designed specifically for the demands of the top job.
A community where you dont have to explain the context.Skip the backstory. 91心頭+ understands the job, the politics, the stakes, and the pace.
Your decisions shape communities.Find the tools and peer insight to make them with confidence here.
Leadership tailored to the realities of running a district.From board relations to budgets, crisis response to community trust91心頭+ focuses on the challenges only superintendents navigate each day.
Built for superintendents.Powered by superintendents. Trusted by superintendents. If you run a district, you belong here.

Related Articles