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Guest commentary: Elected superintendent referendum a threat to the quality of our schools

By Staff | Sep 22, 2022

Bobbie D'Alessandro

Quality Schools for the Future of Lee County, a political action committee, was formed in response to a referendum that will appear on the Nov. 8, 2022, General Election ballot for all voters in Lee County, Florida. The referendum asks that the Superintendent of Schools in Lee County be an elected, partisan, political office to be placed on the ballot every four years, instead of a professional appointed position, as is currently the case.

The appearance of this referendum is peculiar, since it was back in 1974 that voters in Lee County established the current system of having the Superintendent appointed by the School Board. With that long-ago decision, Lee County joined the rest of nation in making sure its school system was headed by an appointed, professional educational leader instead of by a politician.

Quality Schools for the Future of Lee County believes that going back to ole’ boy networks, machine politics, cronyism, and endless fundraising can only hurt students, teachers, and families. Only two states — Alabama and Florida — still allow for elected superintendents, since both Tennessee and Mississippi recently voted out the election of political superintendents. Nine of the largest Florida districts — of which Lee is one — all have appointed professional superintendents.

An elected, partisan political superintendent of schools need have no qualification other than to be 18 years of age and a resident of Lee County. Under the current system, the elected School Board Members may search nationwide for the best educational leader. This leader, hired by the School Board, can also be fired by the School Board if need be. This will not be so if the referendum is approved. Instead, a local politician in charge of our schools and in charge of a $2 billion annual budget, will report to no one in the school district. The elected, non-partisan School Board will have no oversight over an elected partisan, political superintendent.

Quality Schools For The Future sees this referendum as a dangerous power grab, a threat to the quality of our schools, that, if successful, will introduce political money into the management and everyday operations of the district. An elected, partisan, political superintendent will have the ability to raise unlimited money from political parties, at the local and national level, from companies doing business with the district, from employees and from parents. As with all elected politicians, fund-raising for the next election can begin as soon as they take office. An appointed professional superintendent has no ability, or need, to raise money.

The group will send speakers to community events, host a Website and Facebook page, and help inform voters about how to keep political money out of our schools.

Quality Schools For The Future is not affiliated with any political party, provides no funding to any political party or candidate, and accepts no funding from any political party.

— Bobbi D’Alessandro, Quality Schools For The Future.