The big story: When Mike Grego announced he would be retiring as Pinellas County School Superintendent at the end of June, school board members knew one thing: They didn’t want a repeat of the turmoil that followed the departure of its last longtime chief executive, Howard Hinesley. .
Council Chair Eileen Long spoke about the need for a smooth transition to a strong and stable leader who could carry forward the district’s progress. The council quickly launched a search for a successor.
Some residents have argued that research should wait until after the fall, when four board seats are up for grabs. A change in membership could result in a different choice, as the Alachua County School Board recently demonstrated.
The council went ahead. This decision has raised a new set of concerns.
Local support for an inside candidate quickly surfaced, leading some to question why the board should spend thousands of dollars looking for someone it already had. But the idea of a quick inside appointee generated further questions about whether someone outside might be better, if the board was watching.
The board’s most senior member, Carol Cook, suggested that going through the process would legitimize the person chosen. So the search continued. A week after the application deadline expired, the jury needed less than an hour to select three finalists.
One of them will get the job next week. Read about them here.
Hot topics
Math textbooks: When reviewing Florida math textbooks for adoption, three of 125 reviewers found books misaligned with the state’s “prohibited content” rules. Each had ties to conservative organizations. • Conservative Florida Citizens Alliance led the charge for the kidnapping of what she and others see as “enlightened” content in school materials, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Remedial schools: Warrington Middle School in Escambia County, which has received a state D or F grade for eight consecutive years, will become a charter school if it does not improve to C or better, WEAR reports.
Book Challenges: Authors of four books a group wanted removed from Polk County schools discuss their views on such attemptsthe register reports.
Graduation Day: The principal of Pine View School in Sarasota warned senior class president Zander Moricz that he is going to cut the microphone if the teenager’s graduation speech turns into comments about LGBTQ activism, the Herald Tribune reports. (Subscription only) • Moricz, a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging Florida’s new “parental rights” law, said the school was trying to censor him, WUSF reports. • For the first time in its history, the top three graduates of Clewiston High School in Hendry County are black studentsreports WINK.
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Teacher compensation: Leon County Teachers and the School District reached an agreement in principle on salary increases a day after the State Board of Education reprimanded the district and seven others for not yet distributing state funds for raises, WFSU reports.
Other school news
A school developer plans to build a new private school in Brooksville. The group launches the concept as an “IMG North”, the Suncoast News reports. Community reaction to the proposal has been mixed.
The Jefferson County School District is set to regain control of a charter operator. Five Former District Teachers of the Year joined the staff so far, WTXL reports.
The principal of a Gadsden County school was filmed holding a student to the ground with his knee. The school district is investigatingreports WCTV.
The Jackson County School District will place seven cameras on each of its school buses. The administration may watch live action on buses if necessary, reports WJHG.
Excerpt from the court file… A relative from Duval County said she will sue the principal of her daughter’s middle school and the school district for alleged racial discrimination, reports WJXT.
Don’t miss a story. Here is the link to yesterday’s recap.
Before you leave … If only the fans could tell the difference.
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