The Alachua County School Board will pick an interim Superintendent on Monday after unexpectedly voting to dismiss Shane Andrew during a regular meeting yesterday.
The superintendent’s annual evaluations were on the agenda, with board members giving 2 “effective” ratings, 2 “needs improvement” ratings, and 1 “unsatisfactory” rating
As each member briefly explained their evaluations, Board Member Kay Abbitt, who rated Andrew as “needs improvement,” moved to terminate the superintendent effective Nov. 15.
After a 10-minute recess for board members to consider the motion, the board voted 3-2 in favor of terminating Andrew, with board members Tina Certain and Sarah Rockwell opposing the decision.
The board dismissed its previous superintendent, Carlee Simon, in a split vote in March 2022 and two weeks later appointed Andrew as interim superintendent, also through a split vote.
Andrew’s dismissal comes just 9 months after the board signed him into contract to become the permanent superintendent.
Shane is the 6th person to hold the position in the past 10 years, with the longest term served being only 3.5 years. Since 1972, only one superintendent, Doug Mann, managed to keep the job for a full decade.
The only other superintendent to serve close to a decade on the job since 1972 is Dan Boyd, 83, a former Gainesville high school principal who served as superintendent for 9 years from 2004 to 2013.
The board is made up of 5 individuals who are elected by the public to serve staggered, 4-year terms. Boyd says that based on his experience, the public does not pay much attention to who gets elected to the board, and these newly elected members can be quick to make changes.
“Sometimes they come in, and they have a preconceived notion, and that’s why you have as many superintendents as we’ve had in the last 11 years,” said Boyd in an interview with WUFT.
Boyd emphasized that he thinks Alachua County has great board members. However, given their significant power, he thinks the public needs to be more involved in school board elections.
“I think it’s unfortunate for Alachua County that we have had so many superintendents because it’s very tumultuous for the school staff in not knowing what the expectations are” said Boyd.
Jackie Johnson is the public information officer for Alachua County Public Schools.
The special meeting to select an interim superintendent is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21.
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