Debbie Jordan

Lee County voters will decide this fall whether the position of superintendent of public schools should be an elected post.

The question of an elected, instead of appointed, superintendent will come before the voters in November during the General Election, as Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 497, putting the issue on the ballot.

If approved by the voters, the first election for superintendent of schools since the early 1970s would the General Election of 2024.

The School Board of Lee County had sent a letter opposing the legislation.

“We sent a letter to the governor and to our legislature stating as a board that we were definitely for the appointed superintendent,” said Board Chair Debbie Jordan, who is among those who do not support the proposed change.

“I just think, I believe, we need an appointed superintendent verses an elected,” she said.

HB 497, entitled Lee County School District, was one of 10 bills DeSantis signed on May 3. District 78 Republican Jenna Persons-Mulicka filed the bill on Nov. 4, 2021.

“We need to make sure the person is qualified to be that superintendent,” Jordan said. “Right now as it stands there is really no qualifications for an elected superintendent. They must be a Lee County resident and a certain age; cannot be a felon.”

According to the legislation providing for the referendum, “the superintendent must be a resident of the school district. The minimum salary of the superintendent is set by a statutory formula based on county population, but may be set at a higher rate by a majority vote of the school board.”

To Jordan, that becomes a popularity contest on who will take the superintendent position.

Meanwhile, the School District of Lee County is getting ready to swear in its new — and possibly last — appointed superintendent.

Although she does not have an issue with the public voting, it will now come down to educating the voters on the impact of the change, Jordan said.

“We need to make sure we have someone who understands educational business. It took us quite some time to find the right superintendent, which we will be installing on the 16th,” she said of Dr. Christopher Bernier. “He has been in Lee County for almost a month. He was a consultant prior to being sworn in on the 16th of May. He’s been out in the community speaking to as many groups and organizations as he possibly can. The transition has been wonderful between Dr. (Ken) Savage and Dr. Bernier as the interim handing it off to the superintendent. With him coming on as a consultant, the transfer of power is going to be a lot easier and he is not coming in blind. Dr. Savage has been right there making sure the handoff is going to be a smooth transition.”

On June 11, 1974, the Lee County School board adopted a resolution to change the position of the Lee County superintendent of schools from an elected position to a position appointed by the Lee County School Board. That resolution was approved by the electors during the Nov. 5, 1974 General Election.

The bill now signed would repeal that resolution through a referendum to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. Voters will decide yes or no to whether “the superintendent shall be elected in a partisan election by vote of qualified electors residing in Lee County for a term of four years, beginning with the 2024 general election.”

If the majority answers yes, the 1974 resolution will be repealed and the school district will move to an elected superintendent.

“We had an elected superintendent. That was changed to appointed. Since then Lee County has grown to 96,000 students with 2,800 more students that came to our district since January,” Jordan said. “It is ever-growing. We want to make sure we have the right person in he right position to lead the district.”

If a majority of voters vote yes, the superintendent would become another elected constitutional officer, making a total of eight for the county, including Sheriff, Clerk of the Courts, Tax Collector and Property Appraiser.