Oct 10, 2008 5:18 pm US/Eastern
Miami-Dade School Board Approves Carvalho Contract
Carvalho Appointed Miami-Dade School Superintendent Sept. 10th
Two Year Contract Approved Friday Oct.10th
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Alberto Carvalho's new contract as superintendent will be $275,000 a year.
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The Miami-Dade County School Board on Friday approved the new contract for Superintendent Alberto Carvalho even after an ethics committee ruled earlier this week that his appointment was "unethical".
A parade of Carvalho supporters appealed to school board members on his behalf Friday before they began discussions whether to ratify his contract.
The comments from the public and the discussion among board members lasted more than three hours but it took only moments for board members to approve the $275,000-a-year contract, once the issue went up for a vote. The contract is for two years, as opposed to the usual three. This will give members a chance to evaluate his performance down the road and decide whether to keep him on the job.
One board member, Renier Diaz de la Portilla, commented about the appointment, " It will come back to haunt us."
Others, such as Ana Rivas Logan said she can't trust Carvalho.
"When someone changes their story, to me that's a credibility issue," said Rivas Logan.
When it was all said and done, Perla Tabares-Hantman of the school board, told
CBS4 Reporter Michele Gillen, "I'm pleased."
Carvalho, an 18-year district veteran, was offered the job of the district's top administrator on September 10th, just hours after the board negotiated a buyout deal with Dr. Rudy Crew. Carvalho turned down an offer to lead the Pinellas County schools that same day.
Earlier this week, the ethics panel found that the school board didn't do anything wrong or illegal with Carvalho's appointment but did have a problem with the process in which board selected the 44-year old. The ethics committee said the process "violated the principles of fairness and transparency."
There was no public meeting or formal selection process. Board members did not take applications or hold interviews. In fact, his appointment came in the middle of a Board meeting surprising even some Board members who didn't know a vote was to take place that day.
Also an issue, Carvalho's first month as schools chief has been tainted by controversy surrounding e-mails alleging a romantic relationship with former Miami Herald reporter Tania deLuzuriaga. Carvalho has denied having an affair with deLuzuriaga, and the e-mails have not been authenticated.
At the day's meeting, Carvalho did not take questions from the press but addressed them, "We have no less than seven cameras, 11 reporters, covering this school board meeting today. Come back when we discuss graduation rates, come back when we discuss the closure of schools."
However, as of this writing Carvalho has not spoken to the media since his contract was approved.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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