It took four hours of offers and counteroffers, but they hammered out a deal worth about $365,000 for superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright to walk away from her job leading Broward County Public Schools.
“I would just like to say I appreciate you as chair of the board,” Cartwright said to Lori Alhadeff as they shook hands after the deal was struck.
Smiles all around at the end, but in the room where the negotiations happened, there were tense moments. On one side of the table sat school board chair Alhadeff and two school district attorneys, facing off against Cartwright and her two lawyers.
“I won’t go into excruciating detail. but she has already alerted the county that she has claims under the Florida public whistleblower statute for certain activity involving certain board members, they know who they are, we provided those names,” said Cartwright’s attorney, Roderick Hannah, at one point.
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“I, you know, have reviewed the factual basis for such claims and I do not believe them to be meritorious,” responded school board attorney, Marilyn Batista.
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Cartwright’s side of the table argued that if she was giving up her right to sue the district, as the agreement drawn up by the district stipulated, she wanted compensation.
“We put a value on that of $500,000, so that’s what we’re presenting you with,” Hannah said. “She has claims potentially for race and gender discrimination, which she does intend to pursue if these matters are not resolved.”
But the matters were resolved. The board agreed to give Cartwright 20 weeks of severance pay, including the value of her benefits, plus all the unused sick days and vacation days, and for 60 days Cartwright will be a paid consultant to the school board. That all adds up to the $365,000 package.
“I absolutely think this is fair, she is gonna be leaving with 365 thousand dollars, and I believe that it allows Dr. Cartwright to leave Broward County Public Schools with her head up,” Alhadeff said.
Alhadeff thanked Cartwright for her service to the district and pointed out that she leaves with her reputation intact, which is also valuable.
Cartwright will resign at the next school board meeting.
