MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — The state of Florida continues to experience a shortage of superintendents across the state.
The Treasure Coast is included in that, as the Martin County School District looks to replace Superintendent Dr. John Millay, who announced his resignation last month.
The Martin County School Board said it's working on a job description and figuring out what the next steps are as board members appear to search internally to fill the position, something they said will be no easy task.
The school board on Tuesday heard from a member of the Florida School Boards Association, who said there are eight other Florida school districts looking for a superintendent right now, which she called unprecedented.
"The job of a superintendent is not what it used to be. I’m having a lot of more difficult time right now getting people from out of state to consider coming to Florida," said Andrea Messina of the Florida School Boards Association.
Messina also said she’s also having a hard time getting people within Florida to step up as superintendent. She added that having eight open positions creates a lot of uncertainty and people want to protect their careers.
Florida law does require school districts to have a superintendent, so Messina said one option for the school district is to appoint someone to the position as an interim superintendent while the district searches internally or out of the district for someone to permanently fill that position.
Dr. Millay's last day will be June 30, so Messina said the district does have some time.
The Martin County School Board said it will work on the job description and next steps for its next meeting.
