Sep 8, 2008 6:31 pm US/Eastern
School Bd. Will Try To Buyout Crew's Contract
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Miami-Dade School Superintendent Dr. Rudy Crew could be on his way out soon. Following accusations of overspending, the school board is considering buying out Dr. Rudy Crew's contract. Still, some say they shouldn't have to give a penny to the man they say steered the school system into the red.
At a meeting held Monday, the top item for discussion among school board members was how to sever ties with the embattled superintendent without having to pay. But that just might not be possible.
It may cost the Miami-Dade School Board at least $400,000 to pay off Dr. Rudy Crew's $700,000 contract. He has one year and one month left on his contract which expires in 2010.
The school board recently hired a special counsel, retired county attorney Murray Greenberg, to looking into the terms of Dr. Crew's contract. "There are several options," he explained, "resignation, termination with cause and termination without cause."
"The only way you can terminate him 'for cause' is for gross insubordination," Greenberg explained to the board members on Monday. That was not what some people wanted to hear. He went on to explain that "gross insubordination" would be extremely difficult to prove, and would probably spark a costly legal battle.
Now a board divided on whether or not to get rid of Crew is divided on how to dismiss him. Board member Renier Diaz de la Portilla wants to investigate the possibilities of pursuing insubordination charges. "We should at least engage in this process of fact-finding," he insisted Monday, "before we hastily vote in favor of giving any money to the superintendent, quite frankly, whether it be a thousand dollars or $700,000."
Others want to avoid attempting to fire Dr. Crew. "An amicable resolution is probably the way to go. I think it's the less costly way to go… I think it's probably the fastest way to go," said member Solomon Stinson.
Finally, the members decided in a 5-3 vote to have their attorney meet with Rudy Crew's attorney in an attempt to negotiate a deal and determine a buyout figure. The board will meet again Wednesday in order to get a report on the negotiations or receive a buyout figure proposal.
Some members believe they need to pay Crew part of his contract to make him leave. But Ana Rivas Logan says Crew has left the district in the red, and that even a partial payment of $400,000 to buy him out is too much.
Two board members want him terminated on grounds of insubordination and incompetence. Several board members blame the current budget crisis on Crew's poor administration and overspending. The district is currently $66 million over-budget.
"We have the vote to dismiss him without payout right now," Logan said. "We don't have $400,000 to buy out his contract. $400,000 buys us ten teachers."
Logan wants Crew to willingly step down. "The right thing for him to do, or the correct thing for him to do, is to resign, to o walk away at this point."
Last month, Dr. Crew survived an attempt to get him ousted when the board rejected a proposal to fire him. Crew said then that "his ability to lead had been compromised." Dr. Crew was not at Monday's meeting, but he will have a major say in how much it will cost the board to "make him go away." Crew has not made a statement on Monday's meeting, as the negotiations are beginning.
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