Duval County School Board set to reopen Superintendent search

Florida Politics | By A.G. Gancarski | March 14, 2024

Jacksonville’s public schools may have new leadership next year.

The Duval County School District is looking for a new Superintendent.

It probably won’t be you, but just in case you meet the qualifications and have a hankering to deal with board politics in the Ron DeSantis era, the district will start taking applications on Friday.

After the departure of Dr. Diana Greene amid political pressure over issues at a Jacksonville magnet school that haven’t been mentioned much since she went away, the board opted in October to keep Dana Krisner as the Interim Superintendent, with an eye toward filling the vacancy on a more permanent basis this Summer.

Applications will be accepted until April 15, and the board plans to meet eight days later to consider semifinalist candidates. Finalists will be interviewed in May. 

Pressure built on Greene, one of the longest serving Superintendents, before she announced her imminent exit last year.

Superintendent Manny Diaz threatened to dock Greene a year’s pay for failure to report incidents at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and other schools starting in 2021. Greene contended her office was unaware and was set to take “appropriate action.” Board members also bristled at a grand jury report from 2020 and say Greene didn’t do enough in its wake for their comfort.

Greene’s nearly five-year tenure was among the lengthiest periods for any Superintendent to have served, though far short of Herb Sang’s 13 years in the chair. Her most significant accomplishment was helping to sell a 1 mill property tax increase intended to address capital needs in the district.