Saunders to Retire as Superintendent

School District of Manatee County Superintendent Cynthia Saunders recently announced that she will retire when her contract ends at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year. Ms. Saunders has been superintendent in Manatee County for the past five years.

"It has been the pinnacle of my career to serve as the Superintendent in Manatee County,“ Saunders said in a statement released by the district. "While we have been through some historic challenges–including a global pandemic, massive changes to school security in the wake of the Parkland tragedy, and most recently Hurricane Ian–working closely with our school board members, we have also recorded some historic accomplishments.“

Under Saunders, Manatee County’s ranking among Florida’s 67 districts climbed to No. 25, its highest position ever, after having been as low as No. 47 as recently as 2012.

Current School Board Chair James Golden said of Saunders, "Since I was elected to the School Board in 2018, it has been my privilege to work with the superintendent. She has performed with consummate grace, grit, and gravitas as she encountered and overcame many challenges and introduced and established innovative and imaginative educational initiatives.“

When Saunders arrived in Manatee County as Executive Director of Secondary Schools in 2013, the District had 18 "D“ or "F“ schools. By the end of her first year as superintendent, the district had eliminated all "F“ schools and, by the end of her third year as superintendent, the district had eliminated all "D“ schools as well.

Saunders' tenure was not without controversy, however. She oversaw the dubious "emergency“ retaking of Lincoln Memorial Academy in 2019, in which a wildly successful district charter school was taken over by the district under highly questionable circumstances. The district middle school that replaced it has seen enrollment plummet, along with academic performance.

In March, Saunders entered into a "Revised Settlement Agreement" with Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran for overseeing practices that falsely inflated the district's graduation rates. Saunders was fined $2,000 and had a letter of reprimand entered into her file. She also would have faced a two-year probation period were she to return to a position that required an education certificate.The state found that the superintendent had directed employees to deliberately miscode dropouts as transfers, resulting in the inflation of the district's graduation rates.