Duval schools Superintendent Diana Greene leaving job June 2; interim replacement undecided
The Florida Times-Union | By Steve Patterson | May 2, 2023
The Duval County School Board approved an agreement Tuesday for Superintendent Diana Greene to leave her job June 2 and formally retire July 24, opening leadership of a major school district during a politically fraught season.
The board still needs an interim replacement to run the 129,000-student district while a permanent superintendent is named, and members agreed to talk about possible short-term candidates May 16.
Greene’s contract and selection of a new superintendent were top agenda items on an emergency meeting that board Chair Kelly Coker called Tuesday morning.
Some members questioned the emergency characterization, which bypassed normal 48-hour notice requirements for the meeting that more than 600 people viewed online.
Greene’s departure, less than a year after her contract was extended, was bound inextricably with ongoing review of complaints about teacher misconduct at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, but her defenders said allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted her gone because she wasn’t thought to be in step with his administration.
“If the Board is driven by fear and threats, then they will move to replace Dr. Greene. If not, then no action should be taken prior to a complete and throrough investigation,” member Warren Jones argued before a 4-3 vote adopted the agreement Greene’s attorneys negotiated.
A special meeting scheduled for Friday was postponed for unspecified “pending legal matters.”
Greene had been reported earlier to be in negotiations about leaving before her contract’s scheduled 2025 end date, and two members said they were told weeks ago she was ready to retire.
Following the March arrest for lewd conduct of a longtime teacher, Douglas Anderson alumni and families have complained about decades-long perceptions – far pre-dating Greene’s hiring in 2018 – of suspicious or inappropriate behavior involving teachers at the esteemed arts high school.
In addition, state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz charged last month that the district hadn’t forwarded dozens of complaints about district employees to a state office that tracks professional conduct. That reporting is required by state law.
However Greene’s supporters have asserted she was the target of a politically inspired witch hunt that would add to the sizable ranks of appointed superintendents statewide who have left or been fired since November.
