JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The five remaining candidates hoping to become the next Duval County Public Schools superintendent are on to the next step in the selection process.
The semifinalists, which now include Dr. Christopher Bernier, Adam Taylor, Dr. Daniel Smith, Dr. Joe Phillips, and Dr. Cheryl Proctor, had to answer questions from the board, some with written answers, others with video responses.
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Luis Solano, who is a deputy superintendent in Detroit, Michigan, withdrew from the search, according to the DCPS website. News4JAX reached out to the school board to learn more about his withdrawal.
The number of applicants narrowed down from 20 people to the five semifinalists who applied to replace Dr. Diana Green, who left the role nearly a year ago.
The district suspended its last search for candidates after about half of the applicants did not meet the minimum qualifications the board wanted to see fulfill the position.
The district’s minimum qualifications for the job include leadership at the district/cabinet level in a district approaching 25,000 students or more, or current or past experience as a school superintendent.
The semifinalists had until May 1 to submit their responses to various questions addressing issues the district faces such as budgeting, student enrollment and school closures and integrating artificial intelligence into the school system.
The responses were submitted to the Florida School Boards Association, which is assisting the district with the search.
Here are the written questions they had to answer:
- Please provide 3 strategies in which you will work with the School Board and School Police Chief to combat increasing acts of misconduct by students and teachers in our schools and school events. This includes gun violence, fights, and inappropriate contact with students and/or teachers.
- The Duval County Public Schools’ annual budget exceeds two billion dollars. Please describe the work experiences you have had that show your ability to manage a budget of this size. Additionally, please describe your approach to budget forecasts, i.e., factors to be considered, appropriate timelines, etc.
- Given significant declines in student enrollment in recent years and escalating construction costs, our district is facing school closures to address district budget shortfalls and will also need to revise the “15 Year Facility Plan” funded by our half penny referendum. If selected as our new superintendent, what steps would you take to bring our current district budget into alignment and prioritize projects within the 15-year facility plan? Additionally, how would you incorporate community feedback into your decision-making process?
Here are the video response questions:
- How will you approach the integration of innovative schooling models and emerging technologies like OpenAI and ChatGPT to enhance in Duval, and what strategies do you envision to adapt to the changing educational landscape while ensuring equitable access for all students?
- Describe a time you recognized a systematic problem within an organization. What was it and how did you create scalable systems and reorganize the department to improve the flawed process?
- What is your detailed plan to eliminate all D and F graded schools?
- Florida is wide open for school choice. What are you going to do to lead DCPS to compete for students?
The district has posted each candidate’s response to the website. Click here to read and watch what they said.
Dr. Bernier was the superintendent of Lee County Schools, in the Ft. Myers area, from 2022 until resigning recently as he applied for other jobs. That district has about 100,000 students.
Taylor has been working as a consultant since 2020. Before that, he was superintendent for two years of Rutland City Public Schools in Vermont, which serves about 2,500 students.
Dr. Smith is Chief of Staff at Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia, which has a student population of more than 80,000.
Dr. Phillips is the Chief Information Officer at Broward County Public Schools in Ft. Lauderdale, which serves more than 260,000 students.
Dr. Proctor has been deputy superintendent of Portland Public Schools in Oregon since 2022. That district serves more than 44,000 students.
Finalists will then be chosen at a May 7 board meeting and will be interviewed on May 13 and 14.
The district plans to then select a superintendent at a special board meeting on May 23, and then begin contract negotiations with the chosen candidate.
The contract is slated to be approved at a June 4 meeting, with a projected start date for the new superintendent of July 1.