Trails in the Sand by Peter Traciet, the Street Detective
Dragging the sands ain’t easy work, but someone has to do it.
Ol Pete scurried to the School Board building today to witness the final nail in the coffin of Dr. Vickie Cartwright. It was a sad occasion for Ol Peter because Cartwright has provided so much dirt for the Street Detective to sleuth through over the past year. To the surprise of many, Cartwright accepted a trimmed down separation agreement from what was negotiated days earlier. The community threw mud at the Board members for considering a deal that would cover their alleged misdeed for money and many questioned whether even casting a vote was ethical since the Board members accused of wrongdoing would benefit from the lucrative separation agreement.
Once things were all said and done, Cartwright was removed effective with the naming of an acting and interim superintendent.
The Detective will borrow words from Brown v. The Board and say, Justice was served and delivered with all “deliberate speed.” In a vote of 7-2, the Board voted to name Dr. Valerie Wanza as acting superintendent and Dr. Earlean Smiley as interim. As soon as the gavel struck, Cartwright came down swiftly and Wanza took to the dais with tracks of tears. Peter Traceit wasn’t sure if the tears were ones of joy for our accomplishment or the end of an era of anguish at the hands of Cartwright.
Interestingly, the two Board members who dissented were Dr. Allen Zeman and Dr. Jeff Holness. Despite the overwhelming support and accolades around Smiley’s name and record, Zeman professed that he had interviewed Smiley and was left unimpressed. Ol’ Pete wonders if Zeman would have been more impressed had he had an opportunity to land a slap on the rear. From everything that was said today about Smiley’s no none sense disposition, Allen would most likely receive a reciprocal slap in the face.
Pete noticed that Dr. Jeff Holness of District 5 seemed to be reading from his mobile device. Might a Public Records Request indicate that the messages were coming from the Land of Oz? It seems the mud Holness was slinging at the wall didn’t stick. None of his comments or recommendations were taken by any of the Board members as credible to consider. Though Holness has worked in the past with both Wanza and Smiley, and it appears his District 5 constituents supported them both, he was taking his directions from Emerald City in The Land of Oz.
The Detective found negotiations of the Board discussion around the contract of Interim Board Attorney, Marilyn Batista, quite interesting. It seems that Batista’s attorneys, like Cartwright’s, were trying to slip language into her contract that gives her more protection than the average employee. Batista was seeking “super majority” in order to be terminated by the Board. Instead of a 5-4 vote to terminate her employment, it would take 7-3 or 6-3. Peter Traceit wants to know who would want a job when they have lost the support of the majority of their bosses. Her lawyer’s argument in favor of the super majority was about her commitment and hours dedicated to the job. The Street Detective sleuths that the commitment they mention is no different than that of the superintendent or Executive level employees. Ol’ Pete wonders if this Board will continue down the same slippery slope it has done with Cartwright in giving perks that are out of line with what is the norm. Thank goodness the counsel from Miami-Dade School Board that stood in as general counsel during negotiations did not agree with this either. Peter Traceit thinks Batista will earn a very lucrative salary as General Counsel of the School Board and that is all the protection she should need.
Next on deck is the search for a permanent superintendent. It seems the Board doesn’t want the acting or interim to be able to apply. It seems to Traceit that this is unfair to Wanza since her stint as acting superintendent will only be for a couple weeks to a month, at best.
Ol’ Pete will continue dragging through the sand bringing the news that the trails leave to our readers.
