Greene to Leave Manatee Schools for Duval

BRADENTON – Manatee School District Superintendent Diana Greene has been selected to lead the Duval County District and is expected to begin July 1. Greene's departure will throw Manatee, which has struggled financially for the past six years following an epic budget crisis in 2012, into a fast-paced search for her replacement.

When it became known that Greene had applied for the position last month, she was still one of many candidates seeking to lead the sixth largest district in the state, a 130,000 student B-graded district, where the last superintendent had a salary of $275,000. While she had the advantage of having begun her career working as a teacher in Duval County and being familiar with Florida education law (many of the top candidates were from outside the state), she was also in her first superintendent position and in a much smaller district (around 49,000 students).

As the Duval County School Board narrowed its search, however, it became clear that Greene had a good shot, eventually becoming one of three finalists for the position. At a meeting late Friday afternoon, the board voted unanimously to offer her the post, which it had been said she had indicated she would definitely accept.

While Greene was Superintendent of Manatee Schools, the district was successful in convincing the community to make enormous additional investments in education, first voting to extend an optional half-cent sales tax for 15 more years in 2016, then narrowly approving an optional extra millage point in school property taxes earlier this year, making Manatee the only district in the state to have both additional funding sources in place.

Greene will leave the long-time C-graded district with a B-grade from the state, having sharply reduced the number of D rated schools, with the district saying it expects to have no F ratings when grades are released for this school year.

The process of finding her replacement will come at a crucial time for a district that is flush with revenue but saddled with enormous debt, as it gets set to open at least three new schools in coming years.

In 2012, former superintendent Tim McGonegal revealed to the board that he and his administration had been hiding millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, presenting them to the board and public as a surplus. Following his resignation, the district had three interim superintendents and suffered an enormous scandal after one of its employees was arrested for sexual battery against a student. Several high-ranking administrators were also arrested on felony charges for failing to report accusations related to the incident.

The district eventually hired outsider Rick Mills, following a national search. Greene, who'd been a deputy superintendent in Marion County and a finalist for the post herself, was hired in the same role by Mills, who set about leading a financial recovery, only to discover that the financial picture was even much worse than had been disclosed.

While Mills was successful in making deep cuts in order to balance the budget and restore the state-required fund balance, the steps necessary to do so weren't always popular. He also made bitter enemies with some board members and a cadre of influential ex-educators and sports boosters, following disciplinary actions in a host of other scandals that followed. He finally had enough and retired early in July of 2015, paving the way for Greene's promotion.

Greene's departure comes at an interesting time for a board that has often been split 3-2 on major issues. Charlie Kennedy, a former Manatee High teacher, Gina Messenger, a Manatee native who had taught outside the district before being elected, and Dave Miner have formed the majority, while two members appointed by Governor Scott–John Colon and Scott Hopes–have acted as something of a counterbalance.

Hopes, who is currently serving as chair, recently survived an attempt by Miner, Kennedy and Messenger to oust him from the position, which, had it succeeded, would have meant someone else would have had the gavel during the initial phase of the superintendent search. This year's elections, in which Hopes, Colon and Kennedy all face challenges, will be pivotal in determining the composition of the board that will ultimately settle on Greene's replacement. School board elections are nonpartisan and are contested on the August primary ballot. If no candidate receives a simple majority of votes, the top two vote getters compete in a runoff election on the November ballot.

The school board has a workshop Tuesday, followed by a meeting at 5:45 p.m. The board is expected to take up the matter of the search for Greene's replacement at the meeting.