FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – School Board of Broward County representatives met on Wednesday for a workshop in Fort Lauderdale to negotiate the payout terms for the school district’s superintendent and top lawyer.
Attorneys for Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie and BCPS General Counsel Barbara Myrick are in the process of negotiating their mutual separation agreements with the school board.
Runcie may receive a $400,000 payout plus benefits. He is requesting 20 weeks of severance pay estimated at $137,000; 90 days as a paid employee; and a leave of absence with his accrued vacation and sick pay.
Debra Hixon, a countywide at-large school board member, said she doesn’t want Runcie’s time as a paid employee to exceed 90 days.
“That would be the absolute maximum for me,” Hixon said. “I would like to see it done as soon as possible.”
Runcie and Myrick also want the district to pay for their legal defense. They are both facing charges related to communication with witnesses in the pending public corruption case of a former BCPS employee.
School Board members voted to allow Rosalind Osgood, a school board member for District 5 and the board’s chair, to negotiate deals with Runcie and Myrick on behalf of the board.
“The $400,000 is specifically based on his first year’s pay here — 20% of that plus the accrued interest,” Osgood said after the workshop on Wednesday.
Runcie’s proposal also includes payment of legal fees and liabilities that he incurs as a result of his service and reimbursement for legal fees associated with his separation.
Myrick is asking for about $84,000 payout plus benefits. She wants 20 weeks of severance pay, unused vacation and sick time.
The board also voted to allow Harvard-educated Walter Harvey, the school board attorney for Miami-Dade County, to guide Osgood through the process. Harvey accepted the case pro bono.
The negotiations are scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. on Monday and 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Once Runcie and Myrick agree to a deal, their mutual separation agreements will go before school board members for amendments and a final vote.