Broward Superintendent Vickie Cartwright is fired by DeSantis’s ‘reform board’

Broward Schools Superintendent Vickie Cartwright was fired with a 5-4 vote on Monday night, a dramatic climax to the three-month tenure of a “reform board” controlled by five appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

School Board member Daniel Foganholi made the surprise motion about 10 p.m. Monday after board members expressed anger over scathing audits related to two district vendors.

“There are some great people who work for this organization, but toxic behavior continues to happen,” Foganholi said. “This is about accountability.”

[ RELATED: Broward School Board moves to sever ties with caps and gowns vendor ]

The four other DeSantis appointees — Ryan Reiter, Kevin Tynan, Manuel “Nandy” Serrano and Torey Alston — joined him.

“We don’t need a chaos manager. We need a change leader,” Reiter said. “Someone to make those tough decisions. … This district has been riddled with controversy week after week.”

All four elected board members — Lori Alhadeff, Debbi Hixon, Sarah Leonardi and Nora Rupert — dissented.

Several said it was unfair since the board had just asked the superintendent on Oct. 25 to address a long list of concerns. “This action is impulsive and inappropriate at this moment, and I cannot support this,” Leonardi said.

All five DeSantis appointees except Alston will be gone next week, replaced by elected members.

[ RELATED: Audits find Broward schools botched contracts with favored vendors ]

Although the meeting was publicly advertised, there was nothing on the agenda to suggest the superintendent would be fired. Alhadeff, who hinted last month she was open to replacing Cartwright, said the lack of notice was unacceptable for her.

There was only one public speaker to address the issue, meeting regular Nathalie Lynch-Walsh, who supported firing Cartwright.

The superintendent’s husband, Carl Cartwright, was in the audience but declined to comment.

The School Board plans to have a special meeting starting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, where an interim replacement could be named.

It’s possible that the new School Board that will be sworn in Nov. 22 — or even the current School Board — could vote to rescind the action and rehire her. Rupert hinted she might seek to do that. She asked Interim General Counsel Marylin Batista if someone on the losing side of a vote can bring the item back. Batista said yes, as long as it’s at a different meeting.

At first, it wasn’t clear Foganholi had enough votes. Two DeSantis appointees, Tynan and Serrano, spoke out against the move before finally agreeing to it. The most dramatic moment was when it was 4-4, and Tynan asked for a moment to think about it. He said he didn’t expect to have to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Cartwright started as interim superintendent in August 2021 and became permanent superintendent in February. Her contract was to expire in late 2024.

Her contract requires her to be given 60 days notice. She’s also entitled to five months of severance pay, which is about $134,615.

The move came at the end of a discussion about two audits that criticized district practices. One focused on how district officials violated policies to give contracts to a cap and gown vendor, Chuck Puleri & Associates, who auditors say overcharged students and parents.

Another audit focused on Boston-based Public Consulting Group, which investigated whether district staff had improper ties to a former district employee who works for the company. The audit didn’t reach that conclusion but raised enough concerns about Cartwright to alarm Alston, the board chairman.

Cartwright’s job has been in jeopardy since DeSantis removed and replaced four board members in late August. She’s been frequently accused of failing to fix a problematic culture that has allowed corruption and waste to flourish.

She couldn’t be reached after the meeting but defended herself during the meeting.

“I‘ve taken swift and immediate, very clear action,” she said. “When I put corrective actions in place, somehow it becomes my fault. I am rising to the challenge, not running from it.”

Alston, the board chairman, saw it completely differently.

“I desire an administration not connected to many of the recent and past failures,” he said. “There are systemic issues. Systemic failures. … We clearly have folks in the building connected to people, influences and processes that have stained the district.”

Alston added, “I think it’s time to blow up this incompetence, get rid of this culture of corruption.”

In a statement afterward, Alston called Cartwright “a wonderful individual,” but said “leading the nation’s sixth-largest school district requires a hands-on leader and someone that will make real change. …

“It’s time for reform and healing, and we will do that with a seasoned educator who will lead our District, make tough decisions and engage with all stakeholders. As Chair, I will work with Dr. Cartwright and our interim general counsel to negotiate a smooth separation and transition and look forward to welcoming and working with a new Interim Superintendent as we look for a transformational leader.”