St. Johns school board workshop outlines superintendent search timeline, survey and finalist interview plans

The St. Johns County School Board discussed plans for its superintendent search at a workshop where consultants from the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) presented a draft community survey, outreach strategy and a multi-stage timeline for recruiting and interviewing candidates.

“the sole item for discussion this morning is the superintendent search,” Board Chair Mister Coleman said, opening the session. FSBA CEO Andrea Messina and her superintendent-search team walked the board through a color‑coded draft of candidate characteristics and survey questions that the board had pre-ranked.

Board members and FSBA staff said the online survey will be open Jan. 20 through Feb. 14 and ask respondents to pick their top three priorities in each of several categories. Andrea Messina said the survey will be distributed through the district’s superintendent‑search portal, the district and school websites, social media, QR codes, mass notifications and paper copies at schools for those who do not use digital channels. "We will provide your team with an embed link, which they'll know how to use, a QR code, all of the above so that people can use it different ways," Messina said.

The board agreed to use the survey results plus structured focus groups and community forums to refine the job description and the qualifications it will advertise. FSBA recommended a combination of large public forums (open to anyone) and targeted focus groups (invited participation) and identified several existing meetings where focus groups could be scheduled, including a student advisory council meeting on Feb. 5 and the principals’ advisory council on Feb. 12. The consultants recommended the board not attend the focus‑group sessions so participants would feel free to speak candidly: "We would encourage board members to not attend these meetings," Messina said.

FSBA senior consultant Michael Godrow reviewed the posted timeline and key dates the board will use to manage the search. Under the proposed schedule, the advertisement for the superintendent position would run March 3–28. Semifinalist screening and written/video responses would be handled in April, with the board to identify finalists at an April 25 meeting. Finalist on‑site interviews and community meet‑and‑greet events were proposed for the week of May 12, with a board selection meeting tentatively set for May 20 and a separate meeting to approve contract terms at a later date. Godrow told the board the online survey period will run Jan. 20 through Feb. 14.

Because many candidates may be from outside the area, the FSBA team described a three‑day finalist schedule: an arrival/day‑one orientation for out‑of‑area finalists; a public, full‑board interview day with a community meet‑and‑greet and QR‑code input; and a day of individual board member interviews by rotation. The board discussed blocking travel days and agreed to reserve the week of May 12 for finalist interviews, with a travel day and two interview days to be held that week.

Board members and consultants also reviewed the current draft job description and minimum qualifications, which list at least 10 years of administrative experience with five years at senior‑level management and state certification language that the consultants noted could limit out‑of‑state applicants. Messina summarized the draft as written: the district is seeking an experienced K‑12 educational leader; she said the focus groups and survey could prompt edits.

Messina also briefed the board on recent state action affecting superintendent pay. She said the Florida legislature revised the salary formula for elected superintendents and that, under the new baseline discussed at the workshop, an elected superintendent in St. Johns County would be paid about $208,121. Messina compared St. Johns to other Florida districts mentioned at the meeting, saying Manatee County’s superintendent salary was discussed at roughly $235,000 and Collier County’s at roughly $305,000; she said the board should expect to propose an appointment salary range above the elected baseline when it advertises the position.

On outreach and survey integrity, Messina told the board FSBA can block duplicate responses from the same IP address and that the survey platform will shuffle question order for each respondent; she said she would expect a survey response pool in the low thousands for a district this size. MS. Messina added that paper copies and help at school offices or community venues could be used for participants who lack digital access.

Board members asked for and received assurances the FSBA team will post all applicant packets (as public records), provide a uniform packet order for reviewers, and share semifinalist written and video responses with the board and the public. Messina described the semifinalist materials as two written responses (limited to 500 words) and two or three short video responses used to assess communication and presentation skills.

The workshop closed with board members thanking the FSBA team and asking staff to finalize the survey and timeline for action at the board’s next business meeting. Messina said she would send the cleaned survey and the updated timeline to district staff the next day.

Next steps the board and staff identified: finalize survey language for distribution; confirm focus‑group invitations and community forum dates; open the online application period March 3; review semifinalist materials in April; bring finalists to St. Johns for on‑site interviews the week of May 12; and hold a board selection meeting on May 20, with contract approval to follow.

The workshop was informational; no formal motions or votes were taken during the session.