FLVS board opens CEO succession process, directs staff to post vacancy and extend recruitment window

The Florida Virtual School Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted to open a public recruitment for the next president and CEO and directed staff to publish a notice of vacancy with an extended posting period and a detailed publication plan for maximizing exposure.

The board’s action, taken after a lengthy discussion of two alternatives — a notice-of-vacancy campaign versus hiring a professional search firm — instructs staff to return to the board at its Nov. 12 meeting with a revised vacancy schedule and a plan describing where and how the position will be advertised.

Board general counsel David Daggett outlined two legally permissible methods the board could use: publish a publicly noticed vacancy and manage the recruitment internally, or competitively procure a search firm to run a national search. Daggett warned that search-firm processes have led to sunshine-law risks in other districts and said the board would only need to choose the first step of either method at this time. “I would encourage the board to discuss its views openly … before, madam chair, you call for a motion to select one of the methods,” he said.

Board members debated tradeoffs. Several members cited cost and the authority of the board to control the process as reasons to favor a vacancy notice. Others said a professional search firm could broaden the candidate pool and provide outside validation of the final choice. One board member noted prior local search efforts that spent six-figure sums and ultimately produced internal candidates; Daggett summarized those past experiences and warned of potential compliance pitfalls from improperly delegated interview activity.

Chair Reiter said she favored the notice-of-vacancy approach: “I’m 100% on for the notice of vacancy method 1,” she said. Several members asked staff to extend the posting window substantially beyond the default 30 days; senior HR director Katarina Lopez told the board staff could run an extended posting and suggested a roughly three-month posting period, with targeted placement on national and education-specific boards.

Katarina Lopez told the board the vacancy could be posted on education-focused sites (Education Week, Chronicle of Higher Education), executive networks, governmentjobs.com, LinkedIn and Indeed, and through associations such as the American Association of School Administrators and the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance. Procurement director Joanne Serra and Daggett said the board would have to hold additional, fully noticed public meetings to handle any steps that implicate Sunshine Law restrictions.

The motion to direct staff to prepare and extend a notice of vacancy — and to return with a publication/outreach plan and revised schedule — carried. The board set Nov. 12 as the earliest meeting at which staff will present the revised posting and implementation plan.

Why this matters: The board is preparing for the eventual transition of the current president and CEO; an organized, public search will shape who leads the statewide virtual district and will affect organizational continuity, relationships with state education officials, and ongoing initiatives.

Next steps: Staff will refine the vacancy notice, propose an advertising and outreach plan, propose a posting window (board members discussed extending through January), and present that plan at the Nov. 12 board meeting for further direction.