Broward Supt. Dr. Vickie Cartwright agrees to sever ties with school district
FORT LAUDERDALE - Embattled Broward public schools Superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright will be leaving the district.
After months of uncertainty, the school board voted unanimously to negotiate a mutual separation agreement with Cartwright and present it to the board on February 15th for approval.
It followed a daylong difficult school board meeting where parents, activists and even administrators expressed doubt about her ability to run the nation's 6th largest school district.
"I'm not going to get in the way of that possibly something that interferes with our children," said Cartwright.
Lisa Maxwell who represents principals and vice principals district-wide said they had lost faith in Cartwright.
Earlier, Cartwright gave a 90-day progress report in which she detailed her accomplishments. That included raising the graduation rate, teacher raises, and improvement to school safety.
Cartwright has been on the job barely 18 months. She was hired as interim superintendent in August 2021 and hired full-time in February 2022.
But it's a different board makeup now.
Following a scathing grand jury report, Governor Ron DeSantis removed four board members. Then last November after the election, there were more changes.
At one point the board voted to fire Cartwright and then rescinded the decision.
Tuesday's vote comes a day after an administrator with the State Department of Education met with Cartwright and wrote a scathing letter about the superintendent for her alleged failure to submit school safety data in a timely manner.
Cartwright said after the vote she would have liked to have stayed but accepted the board's decision.
She said she intended to look for another superintendent position in a large district.
It's unclear when her last day will be and who will fill in temporarily.
Last week, the board decided to wait to discuss hiring a firm to search for a replacement until Tuesday's meeting.
There are four firms that have submitted letters of intent to lead that charge. The board also has several applicants who would like to hold the position in the interim.
Cartwright's the latest district superintendent to leave unceremoniously. Her predecessor Robert Runcie stepped down under a roughly 755-thousand dollar separation agreement following a state perjury charge.
One board member told CBS4's Joe Gorchow to expect Cartwright's settlement to be much less but still six figures. Her exit date and compensation will be finalized and approved by the board on February 15th.
The district will look to name an acting superintendent soon and hire a new district leader by July 1st.