Collier County School Board selects two finalists for superintendent. What we know
Naples Daily News | By Nikki Ross | April 20, 2023
The Collier County School Board chose Interim Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli and Charles Van Zant Jr. as the two finalists for superintendent.
Ricciardelli took over as interim superintendent in December after former superintendent Kamela Patton, who was set to retire at the end of the 2022-23 school year, signed a mutual transition agreement with the school board.
Van Zant Jr. was the superintendent for Clay County Schools from 2012 to 2016. In his application, he said he is “encouraged to see traditional and conservative values returning to Florida Schools.”
What’s next?
- A second interview at a special board meeting at 8 a.m. on April 26.
- The superintendent will be appointed at the regular school board meeting at 4:30 p.m. on May 9.
Here is more about the finalists:
Leslie Ricciardelli
Experience
- Current interim superintendent of the Collier County School District
- March 2022-December 2022 deputy superintendent of the Collier County School District
- 2021-2022 school leadership and performance officer for the Collier County School District
- 2020-2021 assistant superintendent of school leadership for the Collier County School District
- 2015-2020 executive director of teacher and learning for the Collier County School District
- She has also been a principal, assistant principal, dean of attendance and discipline as well as an ESE specialist
Charles Van Zant Jr.
Experience
- 2020-2022 HR officer for the United States Army, Florida National Guard
- 2017-2019 executive director of business development for Meteor Education in Gainesville
- 2012-2016 superintendent of the Clay County School District in Green Cove Springs, Florida
- 1998-2012 school board member for the Clay County School Board
- He has held many positions from 1989 through 2022 for the United States Army and Florida National Guard
