The Escambia Board of County Commissioners meets at 5:30 p.m. today. They will discuss adopting an ordinance that would authorize a county-wide referendum to if the Superintendent of Schools should be an elected position to be placed on the Statewide Primary Election Ballot on August 18. Read Superintendent Ref.
- Background: Escambia County voters approved moving to an appointed superintendent, voting 62,418 to 61,508 for it in the November 2018 general election. The supporters of appointed superintendent included then-School Board member Patty Hightower, Julian MacQueen, Quint Studer, Michelle Salzman, D.C. Reeves, Walker Wilson and the Pensacola Young Professionals.
The Escambia County School Board determined the election date and the referendum’s language:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM
SHALL THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS OF ESCAMBIA COUNTY,FLORIDA, BE ELECTED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS
OF ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA?
- YES
- NO
Several commissioners have voiced concern that putting the referendum on the Aug. 18 ballot will limit participation. In 2018, 123,928 voters cast ballots on the issue. Only 64,352 in the 2018 August 28 Primary.
In March 2023, School Board Chair Kevin Adams tried to get the elected superintendent on the ballot, but his motion failed because Hightower, Bill Slayton and David Williams voted against it. Slayton and Hightower didn’t seek re-election.
The prospect of returning the superintendent to the voters’ hands received overwhelming support during the public forum. Fourteen attendees spoke on the resolution during the public forum, and 11 speakers encouraged the school board to vote in favor of the resolution. His successor, Tom Harrell, ran on getting an elected superintendent referendum on the ballot.
“In my 20 years serving, I never failed to vote yes for a referendum,” former county commissioner Wilson Robertson said to the school board. “I was not going to deny the public a chance to vote. I suggest you remember that and think about the public, not just three school board members, and let us have a voice in the superintendent.”
He added, “It barely passed (in 2018), but we gave up our right to vote for school superintendent. I think that was a big mistake, and I think the current board of county commissioners will do just like I used to do. They will vote to approve putting it on a referendum.”
Mayor Reeves said, “Our citizens voted to give this board the actual authority to put items on the agenda, to make decisions about leadership and to have the ability to hold the day-to-day operations accountable. No data suggests that after two years what our county voted for needs to change.”
Escambia County Public Schools have continued to improve under an appointed superintendent.
