Monroe board narrows superintendent search to 11 semifinalists; schedules May 1 public interviews

The Monroe County School Board voted April 14 to advance 11 candidates as semifinalists in the district's superintendent search and set public finalist interviews for 9 a.m. May 1 at Marathon High School.

Florida School Boards Association consultant Andrea Messina told the board the applicant pool was "the most robust" in recent years: 32 applications from 11 states, including four sitting superintendents, three former superintendents and 17 applicants with doctoral degrees. Messina said semifinalists will be asked to respond to five questions and that semifinalist responses and accompanying community input will be provided to the board in advance of finalist selection.

The board approved the semifinalist list after a roll-call-style polling of individual board members during an earlier workshop. The list the board approved contains the following applicants (by number and name as read into the record): 8 Edward Tierney; 12 Dr. Michael George; 14 Dr. John Malay; 15 James Tager; 16 Laura Leitert; 17 Amber Acevedo; 18 Christina McPherson; 20 Dr. Melanie Stefanowicz; 21 Jillian Gregory; 24 Darren Burkett; and 25 Melissa Alsobrooks. Board members then voted to approve May 1 as the date for public interviews of finalists, to be conducted in a single day.

Messina and Dr. Deborah Pace of the Florida School Boards Association outlined the next steps: semifinalists will receive instructions and the five questions by email and by phone; responses are due by 5 p.m. on April 14 (the consultant's stated deadline), and will include a mixture of written and video responses. The board agreed that questions 1 and 2 will be written (500 words or less) and questions 3, 4 and 5 will be video (three minutes or less). Messina said the district's staff will post the videos and written answers for public viewing and provide a QR code for community feedback that the board will review prior to selecting finalists.

Messina said the district's legal counsel, identified in the workshop as attorney Tammy Austin of Greenspoon Marder, will conduct background and reference checks on semifinalists. Messina cautioned the board that the most comprehensive background checks are done after an employment offer is made and said the legal team would flag any 'yellow or red' items for the board and discuss context where needed.

Board members discussed pool size and process: Messina said semifinalist pools commonly range from seven to 12 and finalist pools typically run three to five people; she recommended at least three finalists. The board's final approved semifinalist pool contains 11 candidates, which Messina said will allow the board to review video and written responses and community feedback before narrowing finalists.

No board member opposed the motions to approve the semifinalists or to set May 1 for finalist public interviews; both actions were announced as approved on the record.

The board's formal motions as read into the record: approval of the 11-person semifinalist list (mover: Mr. Horan; second: record shows a second and no recorded no votes) and approval of May 1 at 9 a.m. for public finalist interviews at Marathon High School (mover: Mr. Horan; second recorded). Messina said semifinalists' responses will be distributed to the board by approximately 6 p.m. on the due date after the consultant tests video links and prepares attachments.

The board was also told that the Florida process limits public disclosure about where applicants may be at other times in their search; Messina said applicants could be asked whether they have active candidacies elsewhere but that some states do not publicly release candidate lists until finalists are named.

At the end of the workshop session, Messina and Pace thanked the board; no additional public comment or questions were raised that altered the timeline.

Ending: The board will consider community input gathered from posted semifinalist materials when it reconvenes to select finalists; background checks and legal counsel review will be conducted before any employment offer is made.