By Pat Raia
A measure that would make the school superintendent position in Hernando County an elected one has unanimously cleared its first hurdle in the Florida House of Representatives.
The local bill filed by Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) would repeal the School Board of Hernando County resolution that makes the county superintendent position an appointed one in favor of making it an elected post via a ballot referendum. Currently, 40 of Florida’s 67 counties including nearby Citrus and Pasco counties have elected superintendents.
HB1635 was passed by the Florida House’s Local Administration and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on March 19.
Members of the Hernando County School Board opposed the proposed legislation on grounds that voters would have to wait for the next election before they could remove superintendents that did not perform their duties, were negligent or unethical.
Ingoglia praised the measure’s bipartisan passage.
“This is an important first step in making the superintendent position more accountable to the parents and the taxpayers,” he said.
HB 1635 is now under review in the Florida House’s Early Learning and Elementary Education Subcommittee.
