DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – During a workshop Tuesday, Duval County School Board members discussed naming a temporary replacement for Superintendent Dr. Diane Greene, who announced her retirement earlier this month.
Her last day in office is June 2, and she will officially retire on July 24.
A temporary superintendent must be in place by June 5, ahead of the next school board meeting, which is less than three weeks away.
The board will put forth names for Greene’s temporary replacement at a meeting a week from Tuesday, board chair Dr. Kelly Coker said.
The board is looking to hire someone for up to six months, which is how long they estimate it could take to find a permanent superintendent. The interim would be taking the reins at a crucial time as an external investigation continues and as preparations for a new school year get underway.
Duval County Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar’s name was thrown around as a possibility. The Florida Times-Union reported Kriznar was appointed to that position in 2019 after she spent more than three decades with the district, most recently as chief of staff.
Some board members, like Warren Jones, suggested tapping someone in-house who can provide continuity.
“Given the short period of time...I think we need someone who is in-house,” Jones said.
There was also talk of bringing in someone from outside DCPS to fill-in temporarily.
“Each of us has an interest in or knows of someone we believe that could be a candidate,” board chair Dr. Kelly Coker said. “For example, you heard Dr. Kriznar listed. She is our deputy superintendent. There are also some retired superintendents across the state that don’t want a long-term situation but might be willing to come in short term. You’re going to hear those names mentioned in our meeting next Tuesday.”
Board member Charlotte Joyce said she thinks bringing in someone outside the district could be helpful.
“My concern is we’re in a place right now, and it could look like we’re just holding it together for a minute...but to do this long term is not really fixing any problems. It’s just holding things together,” Joyce said. “If we could get someone to come in that is qualified, that has experience -- not willing to do it forever, but that could come in and help with the litigation pieces and that just really is not tied to the district, that could, if it could get us to a position where when we do that superintendent search...we are in a really, really good space for quality candidates.”
The board could put someone in place for just a few weeks.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the board also discussed who will lead the search for Greene’s permanent replacement. So far, the school board hasn’t announced any candidates or given any specific deadlines.
The board chair also noted Broward County schools recently had to extend their deadline for hiring a new superintendent because they weren’t satisfied with the candidate pool. She said the competitiveness of that job market is going to be a big topic of conversation moving forward.
Greene’s retirement announcement came after the arrest of a longtime music teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, which set off a wave of other investigations.
MORE: Douglas Anderson music teacher’s disciplinary history shows record of being accused of inappropriately touching students | ‘My high school hell’: Letters from former Douglas Anderson students detail years of anguish involving accused teacher
She negotiated an early severance deal after the city hired an outside law firm to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into teacher misconduct in the district and how misconduct is reported to the state.
Greene renewed her contract with a 10% raise just last year. Her contract wasn’t set to expire until after the 2026 school year.
MORE: Story behind Dr. Greene’s departure: a teacher’s arrest, a state investigation and politics
The board has agreed to pay her roughly $130,000 ahead of her retirement.
In 2018, Dr. Patricia Willis was named interim superintendent after Dr. Nikolai Vitti’s departure. She was the first Black woman to lead the district.
At that time, when looking for an interim leader, the school board specifically looked for candidates who would not seek the job permanently.