School Board Won't Discuss Saunders Contract Until Next Month

BRADENTON – The Manatee County School Board will again delay its vote on whether to give interim superintendent Cynthia Saunders a three-year contract to fill the position that was vacated last July when Diana Greene left for Duval County.

The item was originally to be voted on in December, but notification from the Florida Department of Education that they had found probable cause that Saunders had orchestrated a strategy to deliberately miscode dropouts in order to boost the district's graduation rate prompted a majority of board members to push the vote to January 22.

It was to be discussed at a January 8 workshop but was again pushed because board member Scott Hopes was in Washington. Now, the item has been moved from the January 22 meeting because board member James Golden will be in Tallahassee. The board is expected to take it up on February 12. Saunders is under contract as the interim superintendent until through June of this year.

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