After few candidates, Broward School Board revamps search for an interim superintendent
Unsatisfied with the crop of internal candidates — particularly among the superintendent’s cabinet — for an interim superintendent, the Broward County School Board on Thursday revamped the search process to include external candidates using the same criteria it seeks in a permanent superintendent.
By 9 p.m., the board loosely agreed upon a timeline to get someone in place by Aug. 10, outgoing Superintendent Robert Runcie’s last day. The School Board held several unofficial votes over six hours to reach a consensus. (Official votes are not supposed to take place during board workshops.)
The board was upset that only one member of the cabinet applied for the interim job: Brian Katz, the district’s chief safety, security and emergency preparedness officer who has led that district’s new department since 2019. The interim position was open only to internal candidates, and the interim superintendent could not apply for the permanent job.
Runcie resigned last month after he was indicted by a statewide grand jury, accused in a perjury charge of lying to the jury during his testimony. The School Board approved a nearly $755,000 severance package for Runcie, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge. The jury was investigating whether school districts were complying with school safety laws passed by the Legislature.
School Board member Sarah Leonardi did not like that Katz’s letter, which said the “collective belief of the cabinet that the community and the organization need to see strong support for the selected Interim Superintendent,” insinuating that he spoke on behalf of the Cabinet.
Katz signed off his letter with: “We remain One Cabinet committed to One Broward.”
“The cabinet has essentially made this decision for us that was not their decision to make,” Leonardi said. “What I’ve heard from the community is that the process was opaque.”
Board member Debbi Hixon said she heard cabinet members were discouraged and only wanted one person from the candidate to apply.
The majority of candidates were teachers who did not meet the qualifications of a master’s or doctorate degree and 10 years of leadership experience in education. Neither did Katz.
Board chair Rosalind Osgood said she understood why cabinet members would not risk applying for the job, pointing at the decorum of board members.
“People are not signing up for this job to get beat up, kicked up and drug through the mud,” she said.
Barbara Myrick, the district’s general counsel, also resigned, effective June 30. Myrick is accused of disclosing the grand jury’s proceedings, which are secret, and whose records are sealed. She is fighting the charge.
The board learned through legal council that it did not have time to create a new job description for interim superintendent. Policy dictates that the board would have to hold at least two meetings for a new job description to be approved. The board decided to find an interim superintendent using the existing job description for a superintendent.
The board settled on this timeline: The job will be advertised beginning June 7, and applications will be open until June 21. Candidates will be screened by July 6, and the board will receive a short list of applicants by July 20.
Interviews will take place on July 28 with each candidate asking four questions and potentially four more follow-up questions. The candidate is expected to be approved on Aug. 4, but if no candidate fits the job, the board would “direct appoint” an internal candidate. That contract would be approved on Aug. 10.
Hixon said the board should be consistent and only pick an interim superintendent who meets all qualifications. She said she consulted with the Florida School Boards Association and learned that state law does not codify an interim superintendent. Board member Donna Korn questioned if that was realistic.
