FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The new superintendent of Broward County’s public school district will earn $350,000 a year, according to a contract signed Thursday.
The county’s school board approved the contract for Vickie Cartwright during a special meeting Thursday, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.
Cartwright had filled in as interim superintendent at a rate of $275,000 per year after Robert Runcie stepped down from the position last year. The Jamaican-born superintendent offered to resign after a grand jury investigating the 2018 Parkland shooting indicted him on a perjury charge. Runcie said he would step down to give peace to the parents of the Parkland victims.
The school board agreed on Feb. 9 to keep her on the job after conducting a national search for Runcie’s replacement. She is Broward’s first female superintendent.
“I’m very excited for this journey, as we continue to build upon the great things that happen here in our school district and to pave new pathways of excellence in our school district for the benefit of our students and community,” Cartwright said.
The board chose Cartwright over Michael Gaal, a former Air Force flight instructor. He also served as deputy chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, chief of staff for the Oakland Unified School District, and in leadership positions for the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan.
While school board members said they were impressed with Gaal, Cartwright had the advantage of already leading the district for the last few months.
Her contract runs through Dec. 31, 2024.
Broward’s school district is the nation’s sixth-largest, with more than 256,000 students.
