Miami Herald: Broward schools construction chief to retire
Dec 1, 2009
The Miami Herald publised this article on December 1, 2009
Michael Garretson, the Broward school district’s construction chief, is retiring at the end of the month to be closer to his family in St. Augustine, Superintendent Jim Notter said Monday.
Garretson sent Notter a letter Monday informing him of the decision, Notter said. Garretson was in a meeting and not immediately available for comment Tuesday morning.
The district’s construction department has faced scrutiny since the September arrest of former School Board member Beverly Gallagher in a federal corruption probe. A criminal complaint charged Gallagher with accepting $12,500 from FBI agents posing as consultants for contractors who were trying to break into the school district’s construction business.
Garretson has said that no School Board member has asked him to pick a company for a particular construction project.
Notter said Garretson did not cite the investigation as part of his reasons to retire.
“It was strictly family oriented,” Notter said. He added that he had “absolutely, unequivocally not” asked Garretson to leave his post.
Garretson’s family moved to St. Augustine and he has been frequently been driving north to see them, Notter said.
“It’s a tough commute,” he added.