Superintendent Runcie could get $400,000 windfall when he leaves
Superintendent Robert Runcie wants to remain with Broward schools for five more months in hopes of cashing in on a possible $400,000 retirement benefit.
The benefit, an extra contribution to his pension if he reaches 10 years of service, could cost the School Board five times more than the amount district officials estimated in 2017, when Runcie’s contract was amended.
This cost would be on top of $137,000 in severance and more than $100,000 in unused sick and vacation time he would receive.
Runcie offered to step down last week after he was indicted on felony perjury charges related to a statewide grand jury investigating the district. General Counsel Barbara Myrick also agreed to leave after her own felony indictment by the grand jury.
If the School Board wanted to avoid paying severance, the two would have to be fired “for cause,” but their contracts say an arrest isn’t enough to trigger that unless they plead guilty or get convicted. So the board is negotiating firing the two without cause.
Runcie’s contract says he’s entitled to receive 90 days’ notice, which would be early August. But he’d like to use accrued sick time to stay until early October. Runcie would be willing to step down as superintendent as soon as the board approves the agreement and would be willing to help with the transition of his replacement, his lawyer said.
“The way the board handles Superintendent Runcie’s separation will send a clear signal to the rest of the country on how this board plans on treating the next person willing to serve as your superintendent,” said Runcie’s attorney, Sherry Culves of Atlanta. “Educators and administrators around the country are watching how this board will handle this.”
She also said Runcie was still willing to stay on as superintendent “but he respects the wishes of this board and is willing to step aside if that will bring peace to the members of this board and to the community.”
Whether the majority of the School Board will allow Runcie to stay longer remains to be seen. Board Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood is negotiating with Culves. Walter Harvey, the general counsel for Miami-Dade schools, is assisting the district at the School Board’s request.
“We want to honor the contract, we want to be fair to Mr. Runcie and we want to be fair to the school district as well,” Osgood said.
Even if the board agrees to increase his pension, Runcie would still lose all state retirement benefits if he’s convicted of the perjury charges, Harvey said.
Osgood had hoped to have a proposal ready to take to the School Board on Thursday, but that didn’t happen. Negotiations are scheduled to resume Monday, with possible School Board action on Tuesday.
“Today I got several discrepancies in numbers, which is why I refused to move forward,” Osgood said. “It is very important that we have accurate numbers so that we can evaluate the financial exposure associated with any proposal for a separation agreement.”
One of those involves the cost of the retirement benefit if he stays until Oct. 6. The provision was added to his contract in 2017. It says that on his 10-year anniversary, the School Board agrees to purchase retirement benefits equal to four years of service with Chicago Public Schools, where he previously worked.
A district document said at the time the cost was estimated to be $80,000. However, now Osgood and Runcie’s lawyer say it’s expected to be $400,000, based on new estimates. The perk was negotiated by former Board Chairwoman Abby Freedman, who was one of Runcie’s staunchest allies.
“I’ve heard of this infamous October date, where it would be OK for him to leave, but I wasn’t part of that negotiation and I would have never done that,” board member Debbie Hixon, who was elected last year, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
She said she’s not likely to allow Runcie to stay more than 90 days.
Harvey said allowing Runcie to stay until October “is a significant financial exposure to the board.”
His contract also allows him to receive another pension contribution after eight years of service, which he reached in 2019.
But he first must elect that option before the School Board pays. Runcie didn’t try to do that until after his arrest, and his pension is now frozen due to his felony arrest, his lawyer said. A total price wasn’t available Wednesday. A district document said in 2017 that the cost should be “negligible at this point given the strength of the market.”
Osgood did agree to a proposal with Myrick, which the School Board expects to vote on Thursday. Under the proposal, she would stay until June 30 and receive about $84,000 in severance and $3,000 in benefits.
