DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – The Duval County School Board has named an interim superintendent after voting 5-2 to promote Deputy Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar to acting superintendent of Duval County Public Schools.
Board members have spent the last week discussing their options internally and made their decision at a meeting Tuesday.
Kriznar’s name was mentioned several times when board members met last week. She’s served as deputy superintendent since 2019. She’s also worked in the district for more than 30 years.
Kriznar will serve as acting superintendent for six months or less as the board works to find a permanent replacement for retiring superintendent Dr. Diana Greene. Her last day is June 2.
Greene is retiring early following a series of investigations into the district that started with the arrest of longtime Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher Jeffrey Clayton.
The school board approved an early severance package worth more than $100,000.
At least week’s board meeting, members stressed the importance of picking an internal candidate.
“Given the short period of time, I mean, I think we need someone who is in the know with what’s going on in our district,” board member Warren Jones, who represents District 5, said last week. “And someone that can provide a smooth as possible transition.”
Darryl Willie, who represents District 4, agreed after last week’s meeting.
“I think that we need to have somebody in-house and give ourselves space to not rush the process,” he said. " We can do it the right way and we set ourselves up and we have Dr. Kriznar, being one, who can get us there.”
Some board members also suggested looking outside the district for filling the role of superintendent for the long term.
“Every name I submitted is a retired superintendent from the state of Florida, and I think there are some strong leaders from Florida,” said board member Lori Hershey, who represents District 7.
Hershey was among those who voted for Kriznar. The two votes against Kriznar were April Carney (District 2) and Charlotte Joyce (District 6).