School district gets to know superintendent candidates
By JILL ZIMA BORSKI
The Monroe County School District recently conducted board interviews with aspiring finalists for the superintendent position due to the upcoming retirement of Superintendent Theresa Axford, who had a multi-decade career with the district.
The school board on Thursday, May 1, conducted 90-minute interviews with the final four contenders, whom the board had chosen April 22, and accepted public input. The finalists include local candidates Amber Archer Acevedo and Laura Lietaert and out-of-county applicants Darren Burkett and Edward Tierney.
Acevedo is deputy superintendent of the Monroe County School District and Lietaert is principal of Coral Shores High School. Tierney is deputy superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District and Burkett is deputy superintendent of the Collier County School District.
The longest-serving Keys’ school board member, Andy Griffiths of Key West, who recently retired from the board, offered input for decision-makers.
“Organizations go through cycles,” he said. “What are the needs of the school district at this point in time? Do we need continuous progress or a transformation? I don’t think it has to be a choice between a new perspective and institutional knowledge. I personally would like to see a combination of internal and external options to maximize the strength of both approaches. What selection can get us that outcome? Fortunately the board has some great candidates in this cycle.”
Griffiths’ comment on his Facebook page led resident Wil Kinsey to reply, “You need both continuous progress and transformation. With so many things changing in the world at such a rapid pace, I believe it’s important to do both and I believe it’s most important to listen to the students just as much as any ‘education expert’ or manual, and transform when, where and how when presented with the need or opportunity.”
Another resident Gary Burchfield added, “I’m still of the belief that parents need to be more involved with the education of their children. I’m old enough to remember the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) where parents and teachers got together once a month to discuss the curriculum and development of their children. No one got ostracized or bullied or shouted down to for their opinions. They had a voice.”
Residents were able to meet the contenders in gatherings throughout the Keys prior to the ultimate decision, which is set to be made on Tuesday, May 6, at Coral Shores High School.
The district board selects the new superintendent, and staff and consultants negotiate the employment contract. The contract is scheduled to be presented to the board on June 10.