New School Superintendent’s First Moves: Browardbeat Has The E-Mail

BY BUDDYNEVINS

The new School Superintendent Robert Runcie is off to a running start.

But will he find he is running on an exercise wheel?

He has a large number of key positions open which should allow him to change the direction of the system.

Runcie is going to hire immediately a chief of staff, a chief operations officer, a director of facilities and management and a chief spokesperson for the system (With more layoffs rumored for the Sun-Sentinel newsroom, do they know about this opportunity?).  He is adding a director of performance management to the line up.

But will he find that the old, entrenched staff tries to block any changes he and his new folks try?

Best of all for his first week:  He is keeping the Board informed about his moves.  That’s different from some past superintendents who ruled in a climate of secrecy.

Below is his most recent e-mail to Board members.  What do you think?

 

Dear Chairman Williams and Members of the School Board of Broward County,

The past week was an exciting one for all of us in the Broward community.  I am extremely happy to be joining the Broward family and eager to begin working with all of you to improve educational outcomes for our students.

I plan to attend the training in Gainsville and look forward to our fishing trip.

Below please find an update on my transition into the superintendent position:

  • Conclude contract negotiations – We are working to have this process completed in time for your approval at the October 4th Board Meeting.  Given the financial challenges we are facing, I’d like to send a positive message to the public and reduce my base salary below the current $299K compensation of the past and Interim Superintendent.
  • Conduct district research on key areas such as construction and facilities, transportation, and student achievement.  I also plan to review program audits, special reports, the Florida School Code, etc.
  • Although I did a quick read of the Grand Jury Report several weeks ago, I am doing a detailed review of it in preparation for meeting with senior staff to determine what has been done to date to address the issues and determine what still needs to be done.
  • Review board policies and administrative policies and procedures
  • Review most recent financial audit and management letters
  • Draft a personal and public Plan of Entry (I will ask for your input before it is published)
  • Schedule one-on-one interviews with board members and establish a regular meeting schedule
  • Plan for my first retreat with the Board
  • Plan for my Listening Tour – I am asking all Board members to assist me by providing a list of constituents and organizations important to our mission.  I will also meet with teachers, principals, students and parents during this process.
  • Reach out to my neighboring superintendents in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Collier counties
  • Plan for relocating – Given the short period of time I have to hit the ground running, I will initially secure rental housing and look for something more permanent at a later time.

The Broad Foundation has offered to fund the following services for the district:

  • Board Retreat
  • Transition Support Team – short term staffing to assist in getting a quick start
  • Strategic Support Team – a gathering of 2-3 advisors to provide strategic advice on the new superintendent’s priorities (about three months after start)

I’d like to move quickly to fill a handful of key positions: Chief of Staff (new position), Public Information Officer (currently vacant position), Chief Operations Officer (will be vacant upon retirement of Donnie Carter), Director of Performance Management (new position), Deputy Superintendent of Facilities and Construction Management (acting/interim in role now).  I will start presenting qualified candidates for consideration as early as next week.

I plan to be in the office the week of October 2nd and will try to meet with each of you, the ELT and other senior staff.  At this time I will also try to satisfy a couple of media requests, and attend any other meetings you feel are pressing.

Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Regards,

 

Robert Runcie

(phone and e-mail address removed)

9/20/11



47 Responses to “New School Superintendent’s First Moves: Browardbeat Has The E-Mail”

  1. What? says:

    The guy seems organized, focused, and transparent.

  2. Charlotte Greenbarg says:

    This is exactly what I was hoping for. He’s tapping into his national contacts for assistance.
    As a longtime volunteer and advocate of education reform, I look forward eagerly to working with him.

  3. Sorry says:

    This e-mail just proves Runcie learned something about good politics from Chicago. It is too early to judge anything except he knows appearances are important. Whether this e-mail means anything in the future will be seen.

  4. TamaracTalk says:

    I think that someone at the School Board has no business forwarding emails to BrowardBeat. Let Runcie make his own media statements without disclosing private correspondence.

  5. Commenter7 says:

    Hey TamaracTalk, don’t you know that all School Board emails are a Public Record?!? See CHAPTER 119, FLORIDA STATUTES!!!

  6. Democrat says:

    Don’t worry about Runcie, Tamarac Talk, because he is from Chicago where running government is like a contact sport and the media gets everything 10 minutes after you send it out.

  7. In The Know says:

    The best part of his e-mail is his promise to listen to parents and community groups. They run the school system now by telling people it is our way or the highway. If they listened more there would be less dissatisfaction.

  8. T Tim Stevens ain't a genius says:

    Runcie looks a sharp as a razor.
    I really hopes that he whips this school board into shape.
    I have some advice though:
    1. Have someone print out the entire power structure of the entire school system right down to the teachers.
    2. Then take a red marker and delete all jobs that sound like this:
    -Assistant to the Assistant
    -Deputy Assistant to the Regional…
    -Assistant Compliance….
    -Oversight Administrator…
    -Quality Control…

    and the list goes on…
    BCSB is one of the largest make-work gov’t programs ever created.
    Trim the school board, same millions and pay the teachers better.
    If you can do that, you will be successful.
    Good luck

  9. Red Broward says:

    @tamarac talk – excellent point. Almost as bad as a county commissioner leaking surveillance video to a blogger in hopes of nabbing people taking mangoes from her trees.

  10. What about Lindner says:

    It should be very interesting to see what he does about Lindner. Hopefully, he will either delay making that decision, if he is going to ultimately name Lindner the Deputy for Facilities and Construction, until he can really determine whether he wants Lindner, or he will bring someone from the outside to take that position.

    Hopefully he won’t be daunted by the threat of possible litigation by Lindner. The attorney even said that this has never been litigated before, and we don’t even know if Lindner would file suit.

    Runcie should surround himself with people he is comfortable with. He will be roundly and perhaps fairly criticized if he appoints Lindner at the October 18 meeting.

  11. jeanne says:

    I am optimistic and hopeful that Mr. Runcie will be what the School District needs to move forward. My only concern with Mr. Runcie is his connection with Broad Foundation.

  12. Hammerhead says:

    A few observations and comments –

    First – isn’t there an “e” in Gainesville?

    Second – who’s he going fishing with? and will his contract be discussed while fishing?

    Next – if he plans to look at construction and transportation then why not IT – which is his specialty?

    Then – I heard he said that he hadn’t looked at the grand jury report during his interview but now he says he looked at it a few weeks ago? What gives?

    Are his conversations with the other neighboring superintendents going to fill him in on how they managed to not let go of 1400 teachers? Maybe – – –

    Okay – obvious question…how does he feel letting Donnie’s cat out of the bag is his job?

    Then again – isn’t his plan to bring candidates to the board against the board hiring process – unless he plans to create job descriptions when needed and advertise the positions as required? And last thought – is he planning on reporting for duty before the board actually approves his contract? What will he be able to do? He can’t sign binding documents…right?

    I like his enthusiasm, but I’m just not sure that jumping over or running around the policies and processes is the answer.

    Last word – I like him getting rid of nearly any high level leader. NONE of them are irreplacable (pleeze chek spelleeng)

  13. Chas says:

    Pardon me for interrupting the cheering but is adding additional high level staff postions to an already overstaffed administration really the direction the system needs to go. I don’t see any new ideas here just more of the same. What does a Director of Performance Management do? And a Chief of Staff? Are we running a White House or a County Board Of Education. I’m doubtful that all this new high priced help will inspire classroom teachers to feel better about their increased work load. Instead, how about coming up with a plan to weed out some of the make work adminstration jobs that now exist rather than adding more and concentrate on improving classroom conditions. Thats where the rubber meets the road!

  14. guess who says:

    Tom Lauder aka Red Broward aka Broward Cleansweep…

  15. #1 Democrat for Justice says:

    Dir of Performance Mgmt or Chief Performance Officer roles are not new to government…many recently have engrained this role similar to the private sector to measure results and create a “results based” culture. Broward does not have that

    I recommend u look at other governments and private sector firms

  16. Stephanie Kraft says:

    Hammerhead asks some very pertinent questions.

    I was troubled about the “fishing” comment as well. Substitute “fishing” for “golf” and it sounds like what Till did.

    I think there is some type of training in Gainesville that the board members are going to, and I know they wanted their new superintendent to be involved in that as well. I hope they remember that the Sunshine Laws still apply, and be careful about any conversations they have while out of town, especially if a fishing trip is planned.

    This part of his email is particularly interesting/troubling:
    “I’d like to move quickly to fill a handful of key positions: Chief of Staff (new position), Public Information Officer (currently vacant position), Chief Operations Officer (will be vacant upon retirement of Donnie Carter), Director of Performance Management (new position), Deputy Superintendent of Facilities and Construction Management (acting/interim in role now). I will start presenting qualified candidates for consideration as early as next week.”

    First of all, I thought there was a Chief of Staff job description already in place in the district, but no Chief of Staff on the organizational chart. The other new position will need a job description approved by the Board before it can be advertised, and, again, is not on the Org Chart. Don’t these have to be in place before they can be advertised and filled?

    Also, who knew that Donnie was retiring?

    How can he start presenting qualified candidates “as early as next week?” Is he not planning on going through “the process” of advertising, receiving resumes, short-listing and interviewing? Are we back to the Petrozelo (sorry for the spelling) and Till days of “tapping” people for jobs? I think Mr. Runcie may need a primer in Florida law and how hiring for public government positions works.

    Since he is new to the district, it is only logical that he would want to have an organizational structure that he is comfortable with, and maybe actually works better than what is in place now. And he will need extra help in the form of administrative positions at least until he gets a handle on this huge district. But I certainly hope we are not going back to the days of simply appointing people to positions without a fair hiring process. It would be nice to have some outsiders in top administration, though, as long as he follows the process in hiring them.

  17. How about Mike Marchetti says:

    Hey “What about Lindner”. Do you do know Mike Marchetti with a high school diploma makes $89,170 per year? And he is the most unproductive person in the District. I wonder does the district needs to keep? It seems like he has nothing to do. He goes to the Board meeting and spent hours for nothing but to pick on everyone except him.

    With the help of BTUseless Marchetti is running wild. I wonder three new board members puppets of the BTUseless are bone headed nothing inside their skull. Only eats and digests what this high school graduate idiot is telling them.

    These three puppets should be booted out in the next election. Pembroked Pines residents please kick out the idiot from your area.

    I think Pat Reilly should audit how Mike Marchetti is getting such a high salary with a high school diploma.

  18. Elroy John says:

    It is always amazing to see how many experts on everything we have here in Broward. How about we give Mr. Runcie an opportunity to succeed before we sentence him to death by a thousand inane comments? Good luck Mr. Superintendent. Lord knows you will need it in this town.

  19. Broward Best says:

    Guess Who: Red Broward is Cleansweep is Corey. He’s Bob’s N’s little pal. I feel bad for this Reagon idolizer who can’t seem to write anything original or that contains more than 2 sentences. He’s definitely not Tom and wishes he was one iota the writer like Buddy.

  20. Smart Move says:

    Ms. Kraft, with all due respect, few should demonstrate any interest in your views on managing school operations. Your stewardship in office left a legacy of corruption and mismanagement unheard of in the history of this state. You left a school district that was worse off in most respects than the one you were first elected to serve. Please forgive the suggestion but perhaps your time is better spent focusing on your more pressing matters. Amatuer hour is over and this school board has hired a professional.

  21. Stephanie Kraft says:

    Mr. Smart Move, with all due respect, if you are not interested in reading my views, I suggest you skip over my comments. I certainly have the right to express my opinions, as you have the right to express your views on my opinions.

    At least I have the courage to use my name when I post, as opposed to posting anonymously as you do.

    Since I don’t know who you are, I can’t say for sure, but there is a good chance I am actually in a better position than you are to comment on the procedures that are supposed to be followed by the School Board, superintendent, and the district.

  22. Pot Calling The Kettle Black says:

    Mrs. Kraft’s credibility is zero. The legacy she and her ilk left on Broward County is an embarassment. Smart Move gives her some sage advice but I am sure her ego will not let her heed it. My advice to Mrs. Kraft is a little more to the point – GO AWAY

  23. Really Kraft? says:

    Hey Kraft: Were you arrested? When is your court date??

  24. Really Kraft? says:

    RE: How about Mike Marchetti: For your information there are a lot of people making over $80,000 at the School Board with a High School diploma.

  25. No Respect says:

    Stephanie, if you really are Stephanie, I am really impressed. You deserve credit for having nerve. There are not many people who having served on the School Board during a period of tragic decline and disaster and having been a true leader and key player in many of the horrible decisions that ran this county school district into the ground would dare to show up on a blog like this and try to pull off this concerned citizen charade. I find you to be a totally reprehensible fraud if a person and wish you nothing but the worst.

    Now please go away and never come back again. By the way, what do you tell your daughter about your decisions? Do you think she is proud of you, and what you and Mitch have done?

  26. SimpleMan says:

    To How About Mike Marchetti,

    Do you really think that Mike is the problem with the district?

    Do you really think that the guy who put his neck on the line and exposed the fraud in the maintenance department flooring program, which led to the conviction of the vendor is the problem?

    Or maybe you think he is a problem because at risk to his career, he challenged the status quo of the lame ass Maintenance Department Management and tried to implement workload management and controls, which led to him getting booted over to Facilities.

    Or maybe you think he is a problem because once he was in Facilities and was given the assignment of working on their new planning and scheduling program he stepped on toes and challenged Facilities’ lame ass and corrupt Deputy Superintendent and Directors and the appalling lack of procedures and controls. See the Grand Jury Report and note the arrests and early retirements of corrupted Board Members.

    Or maybe you are just one of the lame asses yourself, which is evidenced by your humorously incompetent semi-illiterate attempt to write something coherent to a blog.

    Or maybe you are Tom Lindner and are pissed at Mike for him getting in the way of you getting handed the Deputy Supe job that you are grossly undeserving of.

    Oh, and if you are Tom, please sue, there is plenty of just cause that would be real entertaining to see in a deposition.

  27. Wayne Trasher_Pat Santeramo says:

    Do you really think that Mike is the problem with the district?

    Yes of course. You think you are the right person (Holy Father from Vatican) in the district and everyone else is wrong? Who are you to make comments on the School Board appointments for which you do not even qualify for? Remember you have only a high school diploma.

    Do you really think that the guy who put his neck on the line and exposed the fraud in the maintenance department flooring program, which led to the conviction of the vendor is the problem?

    What fraud are you talking about? Is not it a fraud – not to work and still get paid salary from public tax money? That is exactly what you are doing in last several months at the School Board meeting. Go look around if you find any building inspector’s job that pays $89K with a high school degree. Who do think you are???

    Or maybe you think he is a problem because at risk to his career, he challenged the status quo of the lame ass Maintenance Department Management and tried to implement workload management and controls, which led to him getting booted over to Facilities.
    Or maybe you think he is a problem because once he was in Facilities and was given the assignment of working on their new planning and scheduling program he stepped on toes and challenged Facilities’ lame ass and corrupt Deputy Superintendent and Directors and the appalling lack of procedures and controls. See the Grand Jury Report and note the arrests and early retirements of corrupted Board Members.

    Is that “corrupted Board Members”? Go and start learning English from elementary school. It should be “corrupt” when used as adjective. Probably Grand Jury missed that with a high school diploma you were making 95K as Project Manager II – what a waste of public tax money!! I saw the grand jury report that report also included your salary with a high school diploma. I know the problem with the Deputy Superintendent and Directors – you have submitted an org-chart showing you as Director with 22 persons under you. Now, show me an example where this happens. I am sure Bob Norman may not know about it??

    Or maybe you are just one of the lame asses yourself, which is evidenced by your humorously incompetent semi-illiterate attempt to write something coherent to a blog.

    Do you have PhD in English?? Go and start learning English from elementary school.

    Or maybe you are Tom Lindner and are pissed at Mike for him getting in the way of you getting handed the Deputy Supe job that you are grossly undeserving of.

    “Deputy Supe” what is this? Looks like you have a PhD in English? You think you should get this job?

    Oh, and if you are Tom, please sue, there is plenty of just cause that would be real entertaining to see in a deposition.

    “just cause”?? Do not you have a high school diploma?

  28. Hammerhead says:

    @Simple Man

    You nailed it! Also, I have some of that just cause should the time present itself. Stephanie Kraft and Terese Nipon and Ms. Korn also have some of that just cause. But I’d put my money on the person being Teich or Kaufman over Lindner. Well, I wouldn’t put it past Lindner. Hmmmm, smells like some people have something big pressing down.

  29. Wayne Trasher_Pat Santeramo says:

    To Really Kraft:

    “RE: How about Mike Marchetti: For your information there are a lot of people making over $80,000 at the School Board with a High School diploma.”

    Are you one of them?

  30. Unhappy laid off PM II says:

    Hey Buddy:

    Could you please investigate the Broward Teacher Union’s TSP unit? This unit is being run like a racket unit by Marchetti with help from Pat Santeramo.

    You could make request under FOIA or public record request act to obtain all the necessary information.

    Please expose this racket so that Federal Government can kick those corrupt people from the BTU building and put under federal trustship.

    If you contact few BTU-TSP stewards they can also give you good leads on this issue.

  31. Hammerhead says:

    Is it fraud if a person takes a vacation or personal day to attend a board meeting due to their sense of civic responsibility? I don’t think that is fraud. What I do think is that the character going by the name Wayne Thrasher_Pat Santeramo does not take well to the truth and it is like having a festered scab picked.

    I think that if Mike Marchetti had committed a fraud with his public speaking time before the school board that would have been let out a long time ago.

    Instead the HR group, construction group and the most uncertain in the inspectors group are all very nervous about the information that Mike Marchetti is bringing out. I think that is hilarious that this Wayne Thrasher_Pat Santeramo person is so disturbed by the comments. If the comments are not true, take a vacation day and go straighten the whole thing out Wayne Thrasher_Pat Santeramo! I dare ya.

  32. SimpleMan says:

    To Wayne Trasher_Pat Santeramo,

    You make a very strong case for you being a reactionary idiot.

  33. Really Kraft? says:

    To Wayne Trasher_Pat Santeramo. No. I have a 4 year degree and you don’t see me complaining. Welcome to reality.

  34. Lynda says:

    There is enough corruption at the upper-levels of District and BTUseless to go around. For anyone who thinks that the previous “supes” (which as any insider knows is short for superintendents) did not hand-pick unqualified candidates for jobs in the ivory tower known as KC Wright, I have some swampland for purchase. It is a well-known secret that job descriptions are re-written and manipulated so that family and friends can be hired for jobs they are not qualified for. I can rattle off a list but I’d be here all day.
    Hammerhead, as usual, is on point with his comments, most particularly with respect to a thorough review of IT.
    Ms. Kraft has every right to express her views and as a former Board member, I appreciate her insight.
    Unhappy Laid-off PM II is correct that the BTU’s TSP should be thoroughly investigated. Many TSP employees were laid off illegally without benefit of the union representation they were entitled to. Pat, Wayne, etc., need to be led out of their Tamarac offices in handcuffs. Believe you me, I know plenty of former and current TSP members who have registered complaints at the local and state levels.
    Don’t worry about Donnie Carter. He should be commended for landing the interim superintendent job without the necessary advanced degree.

  35. SimpleMan says:

    Hey Lynda, I know you are really on top of things, so I want to be there with you when they drag Wayne and Pat out in handcuffs. Pat I don’t care about too much, but when the ghostbusters unit goes in to drag out the ghost of the late Wayne Thrasher, I want to be there as I have never seen the real ghostbusters except once when I was at Universal Studios in Orlando.

    Also, if anyone was laid off illegally, it was done by the School Board, who did their very best to target individuals in a retaliatory fashion within the constraints built into the BTU-TSP contract but were quite diligent in not letting that get in their way as much as possible.

  36. Paul Giordano says:

    Hey SimpleMan:

    It looks like that you drunk “Marchetti Mojito” to much???

  37. Unhappy laid off PM II says:

    Looks like a very familiar statement “.. target individuals in a retaliatory fashion..” Marchetti uses.

  38. SimpleMan says:

    Who is much?

  39. Paul Giordano says:

    Hey SimpleMan:

    It looks like that you drunk “Marchetti Mojito” too much

  40. Unhappy laid off PM II says:

    Lynda:

    Your are absolutely right. The FBI should investigate this racket and handcuffs Pat and others. The FBI may use Halloween as ghostbusting process for Wayne Thrasher.

    How about Jim Kale??

  41. Unhappy laid off PM II says:

    To:

    SIMPLEMAN AND HAMMERHEAD

    I have heard that Marchetti is hiding in a cave like Saddam Hussain after losing in the election.

    Have heard anything like that yet???

  42. Lynda says:

    Hey SimpleMan.

    You seem to be really fixated with Mike Marchetti. I’m sorry.

    Please don’t feel you need to make excuses for the six-figure making, do-nothing BTUseless officers or their field reps. They’ll be allright.

    My colleagues and I were lied to, given misinformation, and treated with hostility by OUR OWN UNION! Yes, I am shouting. I am still angry that I paid my hard-earned money to people who would not return phone calls, answer questions. Hell, my staff rep didn’t even know what I did for the District. Was the School Board part of the process? Of course. But that’s why I paid the union, you see, because they were supposed to represent me from management “targeting individuals.”

    Pardon me for not knowing Wayne Thrasher passed away back in June, but unlike you I don’t have my nose stuck up their backsides 24/7, and unfortunately for Mr. Thrasher his demise did not lead the evening news or stay in the headlines for weeks on end in South Florida like the deaths of Celia Cruz and Anna Nicole Smith. Didn’t realize Wayne had passed – my bad!

    Indeed Pat Santeramo is facing allegations of financial mismanagement, and may well be doing the “perp walk.” Hopefully, the audit will also look at how the union failed to negotiate in good faith, which led to the layoffs of about 2,800 good hard-working employees who lacked connections.

    Question: How is it that BTU and School Board management are the ones in the bed, but the ESP’s and the TSP’s are the ones who keep getting screwed?

  43. Unhappy laid off PM II says:

    Hey Lynda:
    Why are you so mad at SimpleMan? He is a good buddy of Marchetti and probably a high school graduate custodian. I do not blame him/her to stick up his/her nose on their backsides 24/7 because the SimpleMan is taking marching order from his/her buddy Mr. MM.

    They never negotiated in good faith since the creation of TSP. Few self-serving people including Wayne took care of their own pocket. Pat Santeramo allowed that to happen. I thought Pat as teacher should be supporting qualified and credible people to represent TSP. But he is doing the opposite. He is harboring all these high school graduate idiots. Watch these idiots will destroy the TSP!!

    My advice to you – file formal complaint with the following agencies and have those idiots run on the street to changes.
    US Justice Department
    Office of Florida Attorney General
    Office of Labor-Management Standards – US Department of Labor
    American Federation of Teachers
    Florida Educators Association.

  44. Lynda says:

    PM II:
    Thanks for the info. I have already given my documentation to the AFT, the AFL-CIO, and the FEA.
    During my appeal hearing before the Executive Board in Tamarac, I spoke and then the BTUseless “rep” spoke. Funny, no mention of them doing their best to represent me. Hell no. Their opening statement was “Lynda forgot to mention she is suing us.” A complete lie, as all I had done was file a complaint, which was my right.
    I will certainly be reaching out to the others on your list to file my complaints, or as BTUseless prefers to call it “sue.”

  45. Hammerhead says:

    @ Unhappy laid of PM II,

    It appears that you’re on of them Simpleton types who really spell and speak better’n you purtend to.

    I have a suggestion for you…go have a discussion with the guy tasteless enough to use Wayne Thrasher’s name out here in the blogoshere, because you have just about the same amount of class.

    Judgin’ by your comments, I’d say you ain’t even laid off. Your posts come during prime resume and application submittal periods. I don’t look like your trying too hard to git a job.

  46. New Hammerhead says:

    I think Runcie will look into appointing Marchetti into Director – Performance Management position? I say this because Marchetti has shown the best performance by avoiding his work during office hour by attending the School Board meeting.

    On top of that he has a high school diploma and making 90K and he wanted to be a Director when Garretson was Deputy.

  47. Hammerhead says:

    Imposters…you’re all alike.