The superintendent of the Florida school district where a gunman killed 17 students and staff last year held onto his job last week after a move to fire him by a board member whose daughter was killed in the shooting.
The Broward County school board voted 6-3 to retain Superintendent Robert Runcie, rejecting a motion from Lori Alhadeff, who was elected to the board last year. Alhadeff’s 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was among those who died in the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Runcie supporters and opponents packed the board’s meeting room and an overflow area, and security was tight: A police officer escorted Runcie into the building and spectators were checked for weapons.
The district is the nation’s sixth-largest with 327 schools and 270,000 students.
After the vote, Runcie asked Alhadeff and the other victims’ parents to work with him moving forward and to use the tragedy as an opportunity to bring the community together.
About 80 parents and community members addressed the board, with only six speaking in favor of firing Runcie.
