Home  News Local News School Superintendent gets to keep job
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School Superintendent gets to keep job |
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 |
Miami-Dade School Superintendent Rudy Crew, after a close vote by the school board, will keep his job.
The decision came after an intense four-hour discussion between board members for and against the continuation of Crew’s employment. Crew retained his job by a narrow 5 to 4 vote.
It was only last week that the Miami-Dade School Board approved a temporary budget after months of haggling, and it seemed that some semblance of stability had come over the often factious board.
The discussions at the meeting also included members of the community who overwhelmingly supported Crew. The move to fire Crew was led by board member Renier Diaz de la Portilla, who for weeks has been trying to have Crew fired, blaming the superintendent for the financial problems that has besieged the county’s school district. Diaz de la Portella said he was disappointed by the vote, but vowed not to give up on his efforts to fire Crew.
Just before the vote was taken in a prepared statement Crew referred to the efforts to remove him as a “high-tech lynching of my reputation,” words similar to that used by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during the tense hearings that led to his appointment.
Reports are that for some time there has been opposition to Crew being aired on popular Spanish language radio in Miami-Dade. Diaz de la Portilla has taken advantage of this to call for Crew’s dismissal. It was also reported that district lawyers advised the school board if they fired Crew, the board would be required to pay him about $700,000 in severance pay. This factor measured strongly in the minds of those who voted for Crew’s stay. Prior to the vote on Crew’s tenure, the board voted unanimously to seek a second opinion from an outside counsel regarding Crew’s contract.
It is not certain if Crew will remain with the school district, as superintendent, citing that what transpired has put a serious “cramp” in his ability to lead. He, however, said he planned to get through the start of the school year which begins in a few weeks. He also indicated he could decide within weeks whether to leave his post on his own terms.
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