By Tom St. Myer
A late addition to the Escambia County School Board agenda to discuss the termination of Superintendent Tim Smith was struck down before Tuesday’s meeting even started.
School Board members Laura Edler, Patty Hightower and Bill Slayton questioned why Board chairman Kevin Adams added the item to the agenda less than 24 hours before the meeting. Adams defended the decision saying that a board member asked to add the item.
Inweekly later learned it was Paul Fetsko that made the request.
Slayton complained that he learned of the addition second-hand and then motioned for the agenda to be approved without a discussion to terminate Smith’s contract. Edler seconded his motion which passed 3-2 with Adams and Fetsko on the losing side.
Smith has drawn his share of criticism in the past few weeks. Parents recently complained about a “Rights and Responsibilities” handbook quiz for middle and high school students that included a question about exchanging nude photos, revenge porn and a student committing suicide.
How the school district reacted to a massive brawl among spectators at a varsity football game between visiting Pensacola High and host Washington on August 26 upset a significant number in the PHS community. The school district changed the date and location of PHS football games without community input even though the brawl occurred at Washington High and waited nearly a week to release a statement.
Instead of playing under the Friday night lights, PHS played road games on Saturday mornings with the second half of those games during the hottest periods of the day. PHS head football coach Cantrell Tyson collapsed on the field and suffered a heat stroke during the third quarter of a Saturday game against Pine Forest High on Sept. 10.
Smith is nearing his two-year anniversary as superintendent. He has ushered in a new era as an outsider from Orlando appointed by the school board after voters previously determined who held the position. His tenure has been mired by a global pandemic and a shortage of employees as the school district has yet to make noticeable gains.
The school district ranked 51st out of 67 in total points earned on the Florida School Accountability Reports in 2021-22. That ranking nearly mirrors its standing under previous Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. Escambia ranked 53rd in 2017-18 and 52nd in 2018-19 before COVID-19 caused chaos in the education system.
Eleven Escambia schools graded out as a D or F for 2021-22, a sharp increase from 2018-19 when two elementaries and two middle schools earned D grades. Warrington Middle earned one of the Ds in 2021-22 and that proved costly as the Florida State Board of Education approved a plan for Warrington to become a charter school in 2023-24.
Smith noted that the global pandemic significantly impacted grades last school year and that in some instances a drop of just a percentage or two changed the grade.
To put the impact of COVID in perspective, Smith said the school district operated without over 4% of its staff last January alone. The absence of teachers and staff put a school district already with a shortage of both in a bind, and a significant number of openings remain as the school district began the 2022-23 school year.