ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – After months of searching, St. Johns County Schools selected a familiar face to become the school district’s newest leader.
The board chose Dr. Brennan Asplen, who is currently the district’s Deputy Superintendent of Operations.
Asplen was one of four finalists considered for the superintendent position, and he was the only candidate with previous superintendent experience.
He served as the Sarasota County superintendent from 2020 to 2023.
Board Chair Anthony Coleman expressed confidence in the selection of Dr. Asplen.
“I do believe Dr. Asplen would be the right fit for now,” Coleman said.
Board member Dr. Linda Thompson noted Dr. Asplen’s extensive experience in educational leadership, including his previous experience as a superintendent.
“He’s been in three different counties in Florida where we’re talking about what are your new ideas, or bring new things to the table or whatever,” Thompson said. “That’s what I’m looking for, someone who knows who we are and will help us keep going in the right direction.”
Dr. Asplen shared his excitement for being the board’s top choice.
“I’m very excited, and I’m very humbled and honored to be selected for the new position,” he said. “Just really excited to be here, and can’t wait to get going.”
In his first 100 days he plans to visit all the schools in the county to talk with administrators and teachers about highlights and challenges. He plans to get out into the community to meet with different agencies and clubs.
He also wants to take an in-depth look at the budget, and he wants to focus on academics and student success.
“We need to look at it across the board. Where are our gaps? Where are our holes? How are we doing with funding and resources? Do we need to shift some resources around? Overturn every rock, look at whatever our expenses are, and then really work on communication,” he said.
Dr. Asplen also aims to enhance communication within the district. He plans to implement various outreach strategies.
“That would include podcasts, town hall meetings, videos that we can do, that we can create of schools so that people can see what’s going on in different schools,” he said.
Overall he wants parents to know that he prioritizes student safety and success.
“We want to make sure every opportunity is given to students that they can be successful, especially as they leave us,” he said. “But we have to be able to do it together, and I’m definitely open to that. I’m open to communication, talking, collaboration, and they should feel free to be able to collaborate with not only me, but our entire school district, and trying to solve problems and create great solutions for students.”
With the hiring of Dr. Asplen as superintendent, there will now be an opening for his current role Deputy Superintendent of Operations. We expect the transition process to happen over the next few months.
His next step is to finish contract negotiations with the board and start the position on July 1.
