26 apply for Broward schools superintendent
Twenty-six people are vying to become the next superintendent of Broward schools, a district that has suffered turmoil and scrutiny in recent years.
Several are high-ranking officials in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Longtime administrator Valerie Wanza, chief of staff to Interim Superintendent Earlean Smiley, is probably the best known applicant in Broward County. She is being supported by several employee unions.
Two former Broward school administrators also are applying.
Shernette Grant, the chief program officer for Junior Achievement of South Florida, is a former principal at Willian Dandy Middle in Fort Lauderdale and director of innovative programs. She was named principal of Blanche Ely High last year but resigned before the School Board could approve her appointment.
Jason Nault has been an associate superintendent of teaching and learning, equity and accountability in Waukegan, Ill., since 2018. Before that, he was a principal for two years at J.P. Taravella High in Coral Springs.
Two Palm Beach County administrators who applied when the job was open in 2022, Peter Licata and Keith Oswald, are trying again.
A former Palm Beach County administrator also has applied. Wanda Paul is a former chief facilities officer and chief operating officer with Palm Beach County schools. She now serves as chief operating officer for the Houston Independent School District.
The School Board is expected to review the applicants at a workshop Tuesday where it could choose finalists.
“I think there are some solid candidates in there, so I’m interested in having a conversation with them and learning more about them,” Board member Debbi Hixon said. “There were a couple of good applications in there.”
The successful candidate could become Broward’s fourth superintendent in two years. The district has been under a microscope since the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland. A grand jury was created to investigate school safety but focused more on other issues in Broward County, including questionable technology purchases and the poor execution of an $800 million voter-approved bond for school construction.
Three district administrators, including then-Superintendent Robert Runcie, were indicted in 2021. Runcie resigned in August 2021, following a perjury charge. A judge dismissed Runcie’s case this week. The cases against former Technology Chief Tony Hunter and former General Counsel Barbara Myrick are still pending.
The School Board chose Vickie Cartwright to replace Runcie, but her job became in jeopardy after a grand jury report skewered the district and prompted Gov. Ron DeSantis to remove and replace four board members. Cartwright was forced out in February and replaced by Earlean Smiley as interim superintendent. Smiley agreed not to apply for the permanent job.
The clear favorite among several employee groups is Wanza, a former principal, principal supervisor and chief of school performance and accountability. Those writing letters of support include the Broward Principals and Assistants Association; the Educational Support & Management Association, which represents district-level administrators; and the Federation of Public Employees, which represents lower-paid employees including bus drivers, custodians and maintenance workers.
“Dr. Wanza has devoted her entire life and career to the students of Broward County. It shows in everything she says and does,” wrote Lisa Maxwell, executive director of the principals and assistant principals group.
“There is no tragedy, no amount of political wrangling, no amount of nature’s wrath, no amount of pressure, or personal loss that has moved her one inch from her daily devotion to this district,” Maxwell wrote. “We are fortunate to have had her calming, loving, brilliant, creative, and determined presence through both Broward’s days of glory and days of scorn.”
Wanza could not be reached for comment Friday.
Three candidates applied when the job was open last year. Caprice Young, who leads a network of six charter schools in Los Angeles, received some support last year but didn’t become a finalist.
Two others, Licata and Oswald of Palm Beach County, made the initial top four. But Licata, a regional superintendent, withdrew without giving a reason.
Reached Friday, Licata said he was a finalist at the time for a job in Lincoln, Neb., and the interviews were scheduled for the same day. He said he believed that Cartwright, who was then interim superintendent, likely had the edge for the Broward job.
Licata said he recently dropped out of superintendent interviews in Manatee and Brevard counties, because he needs to care for his mother, who is in hospice care. But he’s still interested in the Broward job.
“I was born in Broward, raised in Broward, started public school in Broward, my wife is from Broward,” Licata said. “I know the county well, and I want to bring the success we have in Palm Beach and make Broward even better.”
Palm Beach County has been a perennial A-rated school district, while Broward has been B-rated for years.
Board members at the time disqualified Oswald, chief of equity and wellness in Palm Beach County, amid concern about his role in a scandal involving William Latson, a high school principal who told a parent he couldn’t confirm the Holocaust was a factual event. Oswald, a longtime administrator, supervised the principal at the time and initially did not discipline him. Latson was later fired after the case received international attention.
Oswald told the South Florida Sun Sentinel much of the criticism about his role in the matter came from a lawsuit filed against the district from a former employee who alleged that he was part of a cover-up. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in September.
“School districts in Florida are litigious entities in this day and age,” Oswald said. “The lawsuit, by a former employee, was dismissed with prejudice, so frankly I am not sure why you are even writing about it.”
Here is the complete list of applicants:
Wayne Alexander, principal at Batala School in Bridgeport, Conn.
Stephen Bournes, deputy superintendent and chief academic officer for the Chester Community Charter School in Chester, Pa.
Sibyl Brooks, principal of Toquam Magnet Elementary in Stamford, Conn.
Raymond Bryant, superintendent of Thomasville City Schools in Georgia.
Nicola (Nick) Campagna, superintendent of the Hermitage School District in Harrellsville, N.C.
Kwame Davis, an educator for the Jackson Public School District in Mississippi.
James Drake, a senior engineer/superintendent for DTG Associates in California and a former associate superintendent in Gonzales, Calif.
Michael Esposito, director of pupil services for the Helendale School District in California.
Eric Flohr, a foreign service officer and Florida-based director with the U.S. Department of State.
Stacia Foster, a lawyer and former teacher based in Coral Springs.
Ken Goeken, director of special education and support services for the Rocklin Unified School District in California.
Shernette Grant, chief program officer for Junior Achievement of South Florida.
Peter Licata, regional superintendent, Palm Beach County
Eddie Mitchell, a science teacher at Lanier James Education Center in Hallandale Beach.
Jason Nault, an associate superintendent of teaching and learning, equity and accountability, Waukegan, Ill.,
Virgilio Ogando, a reading teacher in Cape Coral, Fla.
Keith Oswald, chief of equity and wellness for the Palm Beach County School District.
Wanda Paul, chief operating officer for the Houston Independent School District.
Oscar Rico, executive director of technology, Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas.
Senide Roque, a teacher at Toni Bilbao Preparatory Academy in Miami.
Chad Schilling, an English teacher at Charles Flanagan High in Pembroke Pines.
Luis Solano, deputy superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
Art Stellar, founder and CEO of Stellar Advantage management consulting firm in Hingham, Mass., and a former superintendent in several school districts.
Adam Taylor, a consultant and former superintendent with Rutland City Public Schools in Vermont.
Valerie Wanza, chief of staff for Broward County Public Schools.
Caprice Young, interim CEO and superintendent of iLEAD California, a network of six charter schools in Los Angeles.
