The Broward County (Fla.) school board has fired Superintendent Vickie L. Cartwright.
WTVJ-TV reports that Cartwright was fired in a 5-4 vote after a surprise motion by Daniel Foganholi, one of the several school board members appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Four other DeSantis appointees — Ryan Reiter, Kevin Tynan, Manuel Serrano and school board chair Torey Alston — joined him to oust Cartwright. Alston is the only one of the group who will not be leaving office next week.
"Dr. Vickie Cartwright is a wonderful individual, but leading the nation’s sixth-largest school district requires a hands-on leader and someone that will make real change," Alston said in a statement. "Based on recent systemic issues, the board decided to go in a different direction."
In mid-October, Alston criticized Cartwright's job performance, saying she had a "lack of vision," "questionable judgment" and "failure of leadership."
Just three weeks ago, the board gave Cartwright 90 days to address any concerns after an hours-long special meeting debating her future with the board.
Her firing comes before five DeSantis-appointed board members leave the job next week to be replaced by elected members.
Cartwright became interim superintendent in July 2021 and was named permanent superintendent in February. Cartwright replaced Robert Runcie, who resigned after perjury charges were brought against him.
Some school board members said the motion to fire Cartwright was unfair since the board had just asked Cartwright on Oct. 25 to address a long list of concerns.
“This action is impulsive and inappropriate at this moment, and I cannot support this,” Sarah Leonardi said.
Since DeSantis replaced four board members in August, Cartwright has been frequently accused of failing to fix a problematic culture in the district.
Broward's school district is Florida's second largest and the nation’s sixth-largest.
