Oct 7, 2008 8:07 pm US/Eastern
New Romantic Emails Surface On Dade School Chief
Miami-Dade School Board Prepares To Vote On A Contract For Chief Alberto Carvalho
8:30 a.m. Ethics Committee Meeting Is Open To The Public Wednesday
It Will Address A Complaint Over The Way Carvalho Was Picked
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
New emails have surfaced, reportedly between Miami Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and former Miami Herald reporter Tania deLuzuriaga, which appear to lend credence to the rumors that the pair had a romantic relationship.
On Tuesday, before the school board is expected to take up Carvalho's $275,000, three-year contract by week's end, Dr. Marta Perez told
CBS4 "The priority right now for me is to take a look at the process that we have used to select a candidate, and I don't think we've done it right. We've put the cart in front of the horse."
CBS4 news partners at the
Miami Herald reported it received the new emails from an anonymous source. In one, reportedly sent on July 18th, 2007, Carvalho allegedly tells deLuzuriaga "I love and miss you too." The school district has said they have been unable to authenticate the message.
"It sounds like a mess to a lot of people," said school board chair Agustin Barrera.
In a second message, reportedly sent by Carvalho from his BlackBerry to deLuzuriaga in September, 2007, he writes "Good morning love." This message was reportedly sent nearly a week after deLuzuriaga had resigned from the Herald to take a job at the Boston Globe.
Carvalho has denied any romance with the former Herald education reporter who has reportedly refused to comment on the new emails.
In a statement released by Carvalho, he calls the new emails a "personal attack" with no relevance to his "ability to lead this district towards financial stability." He fears they could distract the board which voted 5-3 to appoint him to succeed Rudy Crew as the superintendent.
"These side distractions that come up, as with the emails, will be a part of our decision-making, and weighing the facts," said Dr. Willard "Tee Holloway, a school board member. "These could be real, they could be fabricated."
Despite so much controversy, Friday's vote to ratify Carvalho's contract is expected to go on, as the board chair says he doesn't expect to pull the item from the day's agenda.
But Tuesday an ethics committee is having a meeting to hear a formal complaint filed by a parent of three children, regarding the way Carvalho was picked to replace Rudy Crew. The meeting is at 8:30 a.m. and is open to the public.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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