Leon School Board member wants to discuss appointing, rather than electing, superintendent

Just two weeks after voters overwhelmingly re-elected Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna to a third consecutive term, one school board member is questioning whether the ballot is the best option in choosing the district's top leader.

School board member Darryl Jones presented the topic to his colleagues during an agenda preview meeting Monday and requested the district hold a workshop in the coming months to explore an elected or appointed system for naming a superintendent.

"There are pros and cons to that (appointed) system, but I think it's something the community would be interested in exploring," Jones told the Tallahassee Democrat in explaining his motive.

Jones said he decided to initiate the request to discover the trade-offs of appointing a superintendent after hearing from constituents. He made it clear his request had nothing to do with the recent election, or the process.

Jones has been a staunch supporter of Hanna and the superintendent's support of Title I schools in the district.

"I am aware that other communities of similar size or larger have appointed superintendents because it brings about a level of accountability that is far different than with an elected superintendent where the accountability only occurs every four years at the time of election," Jones said.

To convert from the current process electing a superintendent to having one appointed would require a referendum approval by 50% of Leon County voters to change the school district's charter. In Florida, only 29 of Florida's 67 public school districts appoint the superintendent. They include larger counties such as Broward, Duval and Hillsborough.

Under an appointed superintendent scenario, school board members open a search for the post and appoint a superintendent who is the best fit for the district. The board can also dismiss the person at the helm.

This isn't the first time the subject has been raised in Florida's capital county, but it has never gained any consistent traction.

School Board member Alva Smith said Monday the board discussed the possibility in 2015 when she was a new member. She mentioned the history of the referendum and cited how unpopular it has been with the voters of Leon County.

"It's been defeated every time," she said.

Leon County voters have rejected the referendum question eight times since the early 1960s, according to previous reporting in the Tallahassee Democrat. The most recent vote was in 1998 when the referendum failed with only 39% of voters giving support.

In 2015, as former Superintendent Jackie Pons was entangled in a federal criminal investigation into the district's school-construction practices and other matters, school board members briefly raised the possibility of presenting an appointed superintendent option to voters. He was later cleared.

While Hanna was silent during Monday's meeting, in a 2016 candidate forum hosted by the Tallahassee Democrat, he said he would support and vote for such a referendum.

After  the caustic election contest marked by personal attacks and below-the-belt tactics, Tallahassee leaders rallied voters around the concept of appointing a superintendent, anticipating the referendum would be featured on the 2018 midterm election ballot, but it never got off the ground.

Leon County referendum results through history

Voters have weighed in eight times over the past half-century on whether to move from an elected superintendent to an appointed one. Voters rejected the idea each time.

• 1963- Yes: 44 percent, No: 56 percent

• 1968- Yes: 36 percent, No: 64 percent

• 1970- Yes: 46 percent, No: 54 percent

• 1978- Yes: 37 percent, No: 63 percent

• 1982- Yes: 39 percent, No: 61 percent

• 1988- Yes: 47 percent, No: 53 percent

• 1992- Yes: 49 percent, No: 51 percent

• 1998- Yes: 39 percent, No: 61 percent

Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ABrown1@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3 . 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon School Board to explore appointing, not electing, superintendent