After 10 months, Broward Schools superintendent to retire. Board replaces him immediately
The Broward school district has been considering closing some of its schools because of a massive decline in student enrollment. It has also been negotiating with local charter schools over an about $80-million debt.
Now the sixth largest school district in the country is dealing with a third crisis: a leadership transition.
Howard Hepburn, the former deputy superintendent for teaching and learning, unexpectedly became the new superintendent of Broward County Public Schools on Tuesday, after former Superintendent Peter Licata announced his plans to step down.
Licata shocked everyone during a School Board meeting when he revealed he wants to retire Dec. 31 over health reasons. He disclosed his medical condition to School Board members on Dec. 17, 2023, he said, and he recently decided to leave his role because of it.
WEIGH IN: Have you or your child recently left a South Florida public school? Tell us why
“After conferring recently with my doctors, my wife and my four adult children, it is best that I retire from this incredible role as an educator after 30 plus years here in South Florida,” said Licata, 59. “I’m giving advance notice, so you can properly prepare for the next superintendent.”
When asked during a press conference later, Licata declined to name the medical condition or say whether it involved a life-or-death situation.
In the same press conference, Hepburn wished Licata well and said he’s excited for his unforeseen promotion.
“I am so elated to continue to focus to move our school district to an A,” Hepburn said, referring to the state-issued grade for performance. The state has rated Broward Public Schools with a “B” for about nine years.
‘Such a shock’ for Broward County Public Schools
Most School Board members voiced surprise after Licata’s news shook the room Tuesday. They also raised concerns of instability in the school district, as Licata was the third official superintendent in the last five years.
“It’s such a shock; it’s hard to absorb all of this,” said Board Member Allen Zeman during the meeting.
In response to his advanced retirement, the Broward School Board voted 8-1 to mutually separate from Licata immediately, instead of waiting until December. Board members terminated his contract without good cause, and asked Lori Alhadeff, the board’s chair, to negotiate a shorter transitional period.
The board also voted 8-1 to name Hepburn as the new superintendent. Board Member Daniel Foganholi was the lone dissenter after raising issues about paying two superintendents at the same time.
Alhadeff said the board chose to shorten Licata’s departure to lessen the blow of instability as much as possible.
Hepburn, a native of Belle Glade in Palm Beach County, served as a middle and high school principal in Orange County Public Schools from 2011 to 2016, according to his LinkedIn page. He then moved to the Palm Beach County school district as an instructional superintendent from 2016 to 2023.
He joined Broward Public Schools on Aug. 1, roughly a month after Licata.
To the press after the board’s vote, Licata described Hepburn as “smart,” “charismatic” and “very focused on kids.” He said that because Hepburn is with him during most of his days, “this is easiest way to transition.”
Third official superintendent in Broward in five years
In turn, Hepburn described Licata as “a boss, a mentor and a friend.”
He said he and Licata have always aligned in terms of vision and mission, and that none of the school district’s priorities will change now that he’s at the helm. He will still work toward improving academics and “redefining” schools, the term used to close or repurpose schools because of student under-enrollment.
Board members thanked Licata on Tuesday for his tenure. Sarah Leonardi said Licata is the best superintendent she’s worked with, and Alhadeff said Licata was the only superintendent “willing to discuss how to redefine schools.” Debbie Hixon, the board’s vice chair, said the community loves him, and that he’s a “very innovative forward-thinking person.”
FROM JULY: Five things to know about Peter Licata, Broward’s new superintendent
When the board officially replaced him, Licata stood up to leave the dais, and the entire conference room rose and applauded.
He left his “dream job” as the superintendent of Broward Public Schools after roughly 10 months.
“It was shorter than I wanted to be here,” he said in the press conference.
The School Board picked Licata in June following a national search, and officially hired him in July, with an annual salary of $350,000 with the possibility of an additional $20,000 in performance bonuses.
Licata replaced Vickie Cartwright, a controversial superintendent who got fired, then rehired in late 2022. She ultimately left by mutual separation in early 2023 with almost $268,000 in severance.
Cartwright replaced Robert Runcie, who left the district under a $754,900 separation agreement negotiated with the School Board. Runcie stepped down as superintendent in May 2021 after he was indicted and charged with lying to a statewide grand jury investigating the Broward district. He pleaded not guilty, and a judge dismissed the case in April 2023.
‘Task-assigned’ superintendent option trashed
Board Member Brenda Fam said during Tuesday’s meeting that she supported Licata passing the baton to Hepburn because of their mutual history.
“These two men worked as a team,” she said.
But not all of her colleagues agreed.
At least two board members, Foganholi and Torey Alston, suggested naming Hepburn as a “task-assigned” superintendent temporarily instead of hiring him long-term right away. Foganholi advocated for more community input, and Alston feared a “rushed decision.”
Ultimately the board chose to lock him in.
Leonardi said the district has done two national searches in the past five years and she’s not interested in spending another $50,000 for a third search.
“I think it makes sense for a deputy superintendent to move into this position,” she said.
“I’m really interested in righting this ship. I’m not interested in doing task-assigned or interim or another national search that I was unimpressed with,” she added.
Alhadeff said she recently wrote a recommendation letter for Hepburn and worried another school district could steal him.
And Nora Rupert worried that not naming a superintendent quickly would bring back the “crazy carousel of chaos” — what she called the Cartwright debacle back in 2022.
“I can slightly hear the carnival music, and I don’t want it to get here,” she said, eliciting laughs from the audience.
FROM JANUARY 2023: Political ousting? ‘Come to your own conclusions,’ Cartwright says after removal
