Hillsborough lawmakers propose bill to elect school superintendent
Tampa Bay Times | Jeffrey S. Solochek | November 20, 2025
The big story: The Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation voted Wednesday to advance a local bill that would make the superintendent of Hillsborough County public schools a partisan elected position.
The proposed legislation, which received one dissenting vote from House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, was introduced by Rep. Michael Owen, R-Apollo Beach, after a year of high tension between the Hillsborough County school district and the state board of education.
Owen, who previously said the bill had nothing to do with existing superintendent Van Ayres, posed the bill as a way to make the county’s superintendent more accountable to voters.
Critics of the bill say it makes the superintendent more susceptible to politics.
If it passes through the state Legislature, voters in Hillsborough County would still need to approve the move through a referendum. Hillsborough would then become the 39th county in the state to have an elected superintendent position.
Recently Lee County and Hernando County moved to elected superintendent positions from appointed positions. Hernando County is expected hold its superintendent vote in 2028. Florida remains one of two states that elects superintendents.
