ACPS selects former Collier County superintendent to serve as interim leader
By Alan Festo
The Alachua County School Board during a special meeting on Monday night unanimously agreed to enter into contract negotiations with a former Florida Superintendent of the Year to serve as the district's interim leader.
Board member Leanetta McNealy was first to nominate Kamela Patton, who stepped down in December 2022 after almost 12 years as superintendent of Collier County Public Schools, to serve as acting superintendent in place of Shane Andrew, who was fired by the board in October, effective Nov. 15.
"I truly think, Madam Chair, after speaking with her, speaking with Ms. (Andrea) Messina from the Florida School Board Association, I think she would be a good fit for us and to handle the work that needs to be done up until the search (for a permanent superintendent) is complete," McNealy said.
One by one the other board members — Kay Abbitt, Sarah Rockwell, Tina Certain and Diyonne McGraw — each also nominated Patton for the acting superintendent position.
"She has experience with a large budget, with a large staff and with that kind of managerial responsibility, and I think that, like Ms. Abbitt said, she will be able to put procedures in place that will create a solid foundation for whoever is chosen during a rigorous search," Rockwell said
The Naples Daily News reported on Patton's accomplishments in June 2022, when she announced her plan to leave the Collier County School District at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Those listed included being appointed in 2011 as the district's first female superintendent and being named Florida's Superintendent of the Year in 2022. That same year she finished as a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year.
During her tenure Patton also helped propel the Collier County School District to one of seven "A" school districts in the state.
"When I arrived in 2011, the graduation rate was 72.5%," Patton said in June 2022. "Collectively, we have moved 20.2 percentage points to a 92.7%, all progress that continued despite the direct hit of Hurricane Irma, sheltering 17,000 community members in the schools, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Before moving to the Collier County, Patton worked for the Miami-Dade School District for 25 years, the Naples Daily News reported.
The only disagreement during Monday's meeting, which lasted only about 45 minutes, came when McGraw suggested that the board vote on a potential contract for Patton during Wednesday's regular board meeting, which was moved from Tuesday because of Election Day.
Certain said that the quick turnaround did not provide the board members nor members of the community enough time to review a potential contract and that there was no need to rush into anything.
"It appears that we're rushing to get something done and I don't think that's necessary to be in a rush before you roll off, with all due respect," Certain said to McGraw, whose last day on the board is Nov. 18.
McGraw said she plans to bring a contract to Wednesday's board meeting for members to review and then call a special meeting to finalize the details before her final day on the board.
"I will be reaching out to Dr. Patton in the morning to see what she has as kind of a time frame on when she's looking at starting, because she did share with me that she's strictly interim, she does not want to be here forever," McGraw said.