Superintendents are coming and going at the top of multiple big Florida school districts, including Broward County Public Schools and others that are among the nation’s largest.
Broward County Public Schools hopes to put an end to a turbulent few years for its superintendents. The nation’s sixth-largest district is giving an administrator from a neighboring county his first shot at the superintendency. Peter Licata, a regional superintendent in the School District of Palm Beach County, was named Broward’s next leader from a pool of finalists that also included Sito Narcisse, superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools in Louisiana, and Luis B. Solano, deputy superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
Licata, who will take the helm after former superintendent Vicky Cartwright’s short and turbulent term, has been with Palm Beach County schools since 1994, working as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal and curriculum director. Cartwright replaced former superintendent Robert Runcie, who resigned the same day he was arrested on perjury charges relating to the investigation of the Parkland school shooting. Those charges were dropped earlier this year and Runcie is now the chief in residence at Chiefs for Change, where he coaches and advises administrators in the nonprofit organization’s leadership development program.
More from DA: Why was this superintendent fired by her board during social studies clash?
“This is a dream job,” Licata said, according to Local10.com. “One of the things we talked about is the disjoined efforts on a lot of the issues here, and that has to stop.”
On the state’s west coast, Superintendent Addison Davis abruptly resigned from the nation’s seventh-largest district, Hillsborough County Public Schools, which covers the Tampa area. Davis became Hillsborough’s superintendent in March 2020 after serving a term as the elected superintendent in Clay County, Florida. He had previously spent much of his career working in Duval County Schools, which is headquartered in Jacksonville.
“As superintendent, I cannot express the gratitude for every teacher, school-based leader, support professional, district staff, and cabinet members who accepted my challenge to put Hillsborough County Public Schools back on the map as a strong educational institution,” Addison said in a resignation letter obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.
Sarasota County Schools has also chosen an administrator from a nearby county who will be a first-time superintendent. The Sarasota school board has unanimously appointed Terrence Connor, who is currently deputy superintendent and chief academic officer of Hillsborough County Public Schools. Connor has also been an administrator and teacher in Florida’s Clay and Duval counties.
Finally, the School District of Osceola County, just south of Orlando, has selected Mark Shanoff as its new superintendent. Shanoff is currently the interim chief information officer at Orange County Public Schools.
