Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves worked to pass the referendum for an appointed school superintendent in 2018 and sees no reason to abandon it after less than three years since the school board hired Dr. Tim Smith.
At his Monday press conference, the mayor described School Board member Kevin Adams’ resolution for another referendum on the issue a “political game.”
“I can speak for city residents; every city precinct voted for an appointed superintendent every,” Reeves said. “In my opinion, the schools inside the city limits are the schools of the most need. And the parents of those children voted for there to be an appointed superintendent. four years ago.”
He continued, “It’s unfortunate that we’re going to take education and politicize it.”
The mayor pointed out that if the school board is unhappy with Dr. Smith’s job performance, it has the power to make a change. “Our feeling (in 2018) was that an appointed superintendent really empowers the school board.”
Reeves said he plans to speak at “whatever school board meeting that this comes up.”
“I don’t think anyone could say that in a matter of two years through Covid, whatever result that you’d be, that we have to go back to something that a fraction of a percent of the United States does,” he said, alluding to the fact that only Florida and Alabama allow school superintendents to be elected. “I believe it was 81 counties — I’ve going off memory — out of 14,000 in the United States, that elect superintendents. And what we know is every election cycle, there are more and more counties going to an appointed superintendent.”
Mayor Reeves added, “No one could fairly say that these last two years, regardless of what result you might be hanging your hat on, to say that this is something that this is something that is needed.”