BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Vickie Cartwright addressed big changes for the district in the year ahead, and some come with strings attached.
The superintendent is heading into the holidays leading the district out of a chaotic year, though her own tenure is technically still up in the air.
Cartwright is Broward Public Schools’ biggest cheerleader and that’s how she’s handling a district sea-change required of her by the board.
“We have so many wonderful things happening,” Cartwright said. “We have put in different processes to make sure that there is a sense of urgency to go forward.”
A sense of urgency required by the school board that evolved over the year, from the governor’s appointees who fired Cartwright, to elected members who reinstated her, but with a Jan. 24 review coming up that will determine her future.
“We’re really able to push the accelerator on these projects because the gaps in process streamlined,” Cartwright said.
The district’s so-called SMART Bond projects that were a subject of grand jury focus was the focus of Florida Taxwatch this week. It credit the district for tech and arts advances, for overcoming delays in school renovations, but it also sees cost challenges ahead.
Another challenge is new laws governing parental rights and sex and gender education.
The state cited Broward and Miami-Dade counties among the districts that have to re-do guidance involving LGBTQ students.
“We are going through that guide right now and ensuring that every section of it, it is compliant with the law,” she said.
The new changes that come with the new laws are statewide. Broward Schools has a place on their website with a lot of details on the changes to come. To view, click here.