Broward School Board approves interim superintendent’s $275,000 contract

Broward County’s School Board unanimously approved Vickie Cartwright’s $275,000 annual contract for her new role as interim superintendent.

The former Oshkosh, Wisconsin, public school system’s superintendent will start her first day on the job Monday, Aug. 2.

“I am really looking forward to serving this community,” Cartwright told reporters after Wednesday’s vote at the Kathleen C. Wright Building in Fort Lauderdale.

Wright, 50, was chosen July 22 to replace embattled outgoing Superintendent Robert Runcie, who resigned in May following his April 15 statewide grand jury indictment on a perjury charge, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Runcie is scheduled to work in an advisory role to help Cartwright transition to her job until Aug. 10.

Wright edged out Robert Schiller for the job. Schiller, 74, from Stuart, made a career as an interim executive in the public and private sector. He transitioned several large urban school districts across the country in their search for a permanent superintendent throughout his career.

The original vote was 5-4, but the board decided to make it unanimous once it was clear the majority supported Cartwright.

Before heading the Oshkosh Area School District, Cartwright was associate superintendent for Exceptional Learning Education for Orange County Public Schools in the Orlando area. She also held a variety of other senior cabinet positions in Orange County from 2006 until 2018, when she accepted the superintendent’s job in Wisconsin.

As part of the employment agreement the board approved, Cartwright will receive a car, fuel expenses, a cellphone and other communications equipment and $24,000 in moving expenses.