Aug 27, 2008 5:45 pm US/Eastern
Principal Who Wanted $1 Salary Wins Board Seat
Superintendent Rudy Crew's tenure in Miami could be in jeopardy as incumbent School Board member Evelyn Greer lost her seat
PINECREST (CBS4) ―
A retired South Florida school principal who offered to stay on the job for $1 a year, won a seat on the Miami-Dade School Board.
The surprise victory by Larry Feldman could shift the balance of power on the Miami-Dade district.
He told
CBS4 Reporter Jawan Strader, "I love the opportunity to be able to do something for kids."
Larry Feldman, 55, who recently retired as principal of Devon Air K-8 Center in Southwest Miami-Dade, beat incumbent school board member Evelyn Greer on Tuesday.
Greer had been one of Crew's strongest supporters on the bitterly divided nine-member counsel.
Feldman's offer to work for one dollar was rejected by the board for the precedent it could set. He said that such a decision was one that inspired him to run for office.
"I know it's not correct in my case," said Feldman. "Would you rather have $119,000 in your pocket to save someone's job, than have me for $1?
"You've got some mismanagement of our funds. We've had our tax dollars not being used appropriately, and we've had parents, kids, whose voices weren't being heard," he told
CBS4 Reporter Tiffani Helberg when he campaigned for the office.
One of Feldman's platforms was that the school board should be cutting into local programs that have not been working, and also cutting from the central administrative office.
Miami-Dade schools are currently struggling to deal with a quarter billion dollar deficit -- the result of state budget cuts and rising costs.
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