Turning page on hard year, Duval School Board picks SW Florida superintendent to run schools

Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | By Steve Patterson | May 23, 2024

Duval County’s School Board chose former Lee County Superintendent Christopher Bernier to run its school district Thursday, signaling a new start for an agency grappling with budget worries and slipping enrollment.

Bernier is expected to succeed Superintendent Dana Kriznar this summer, filling a role the longtime administrator had staffed temporarily since former Superintendent Diana Greene retired a year ago.

School district staff will begin talking with Bernier with the aim of having a contract negotiated in time for the School Board to give approval at its next regular meeting on June 4.

Those talks will also decide a starting date, although the School Board had set a target of July 1.

In a brief phone call with board members Thursday, Bernier said he was “humbled and honored” by the selection and looked forward to focusing on advancing student achievement.

Bernier became superintendent of Lee County in 2022 after working during three years as chief of staff for the Clark County, Nevada, district in Las Vegas before then and until 2019 was associate superintendent for Orange County schools around Orlando. He resigned as Lee County’s superintendent days after applying in April to work in Jacksonville. He was named a finalist for a superintendent’s job in Reno, Nevada but withdrew from that contest, saying he wanted to concentrate on seeking the job in Duval County.