State’s scathing letter to Broward schools chief could end hopes of keeping her job

A scathing state letter about Broward schools safety data could be the final blow for embattled Superintendent Vickie Cartwright’s hopes to keep her job.

On Monday, a day before the School Board is scheduled to vote on whether to fire Cartwright, an administrator with the state Department of Education met with Cartwright to discuss how well the district had complied with its Sept. 30 requests for documents related to the issues identified in a statewide grand jury report released the prior month.

The letter from Scott Strauss, vice chancellor of the Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools, suggests the visit didn’t go well. “This letter memorializes and confirms that you failed to comply — even by the most modest means — to turn over documents that our office previously requested from you,” Strauss’ letter says.

The documents include data related to the district’s Promise diversion program, the reporting of crimes and incidents on campus, a survey of 41,000 parents who responded to a school safety survey and safety-related initiatives in the $800 million bond referendum.

“This morning, by your own admission, you should have had better oversight to ensure that these documents were promptly forwarded to our attention,” Strauss wrote. “After making the [Office of Safe School] wait well over four months, it speaks volumes that you were able to provide most of these documents in just a matter of hours during this morning’s meeting.”

Cartwright has been criticized by the state Department of Education in the past, first in 2021 for the district’s decision to defy state orders banning mask mandates in schools and then last fall after the release of the grand jury report, which led Gov. Ron DeSantis to remove and replace four School Board members. Although Cartwright wasn’t in the district when the grand jury report was completed, the chairman of the state Board of Education suggested she was too slow to make changes and suggested she be removed.

Given the scrutiny the district has received since a statewide grand jury report, “one would naturally conclude that you would swiftly comply and produce these documents for our staff to review. But, as the [grand jury] highlighted, the district’s failure to produce documents appears to be a chronic issue,” Strauss wrote.

“To the extent that your continued non-compliance threatens the lives of children and staff attending school in your district, we intend to hold you fully accountable,” Strauss wrote.

Cartwright told the Sun Sentinel in a text she was “extremely concerned” about the letter.

“I was surprised to receive the letter since all of the visits to our schools were rated exceptional,” Cartwright said. “Once it was presented that they needed additional information, we gave them the information immediately.”

Cartwright has already been fired once by the School Board but then rehired after some new members argued the way it was done was unfair. They suggested she complete a 90-day probation period, which has now ended.

Cartwright plans to present a report to the board Tuesday suggesting she’s made a lot of progress. But it’s likely there are enough votes to fire her, since five of nine board members have either brought a motion to terminate her or have voted to do so in the past.

Two board members have brought proposals Tuesday to fire her, with Allen Zeman suggesting she stay through June 30 and Lori Alhadeff recommending she leave after 60 days, the minimum notice required by her contract.