Remember all that grumbling from the partisan know-nothings who criticized the School Board’s public infighting over the fate of now-outgoing Superintendent Mark Rendell, claiming the members’ sometimes-harsh exchanges made them look petty and might deter top-shelf candidates from applying for his job?
They were wrong.
After launching its search for an interim superintendent – someone to manage the district’s day-to-day operations for the next six to 12 months – the board received many more applications than anyone expected, a total of 48, and many of the candidates presented impressive credentials.
“Based on the response we got for the interim job, I’m extremely optimistic about the quality of candidates we’ll get for the permanent job,” School Board Chairman Laura Zorc said. “There were some really good candidates in this group, including some that should apply for the permanent job if they want it.”
That’s not to say the board members, who voted 5-0 last week to hire former Lake County Superintendent Susan Moxley for the interim position that pays $161,200 annually, got it exactly right.
Maybe they did, getting someone familiar with running a school district in Florida. Maybe they didn’t, interviewing only three finalists after a necessarily rushed vetting process.
There’s no way to know, but Zorc is confident in the board’s action.
“Given the time constraints and challenges we faced, I don’t think it could’ve gone any better,” she said. “With Dr. Moxley as our interim, she can hit the ground running and we can begin addressing the issues immediately confronting the district.
“We’ve also given ourselves the time necessary to fully vet the candidates for the permanent position, so we can make sure we do everything we can to bring in the best possible superintendent,” she added. “But we should never have been put in this position.”
It was Rendell who put the board there, giving only 30 days’ notice when he submitted his resignation, effective Friday, and announced he had accepted the principal’s job at Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School.
We can only wonder if Rendell – whose four years as superintendent here have been marked by tumult and sometimes-costly controversies, often of his own making – did so with the intent of sticking it to a board that had wisely refused to extend his contract beyond the 2019-20 school year.
After all, Rendell told a local radio audience last month that he had begun preparing for his departure as superintendent as far back as August, after Mara Schiff’s election to the School Board signaled a pivotal change in the panel’s makeup. Last fall, in fact, he put his Vero Beach home on the market, eventually selling it and buying a smaller one in another local neighborhood.
The most telling signs Rendell was on the exit ramp came in March: That’s when he sent the board a letter advising members he had hired an attorney to represent him in contract discussions, and then, only days later, blindsided them with the news that he was applying for jobs outside the district.
Zorc immediately called for Rendell to tender his resignation, effective at the end of the school year.
“Now you know why I expressed such a sense of urgency,” said Zorc, referring to her no-nonsense response to Rendell’s two-punch combination, which she correctly described as an “aggressive act.”
“I wasn’t overreacting,” Zorc said.
Likewise, the board’s occasionally volatile discussions of Rendell’s actions weren’t petty, or dysfunctional, or unprofessional. They were necessary. And they became divisive only because Vice Chairman Tiffany Justice, his staunchest supporter, too often acted more like his agent than his boss.
But enough of that.
Rendell’s imminent departure has produced a sigh of relief from the many district employees beaten down by the culture of intimidation and retaliation that came to define district management after his arrival in 2015.
It also provides a relatively inexperienced School Board with a chance for a fresh start – if the members can bury any lingering ill will, overcome personal and political differences, and realize their potential and tackle the important tasks ahead.
Moxley, who was No. 2 or higher on every board member’s list of finalists, is eager to get started.
Her toughest test will be cleaning up the administrative and financial mess Rendell leaves behind, as well as the poor morale that has contributed to an alarming rate of teacher turnover.
Nevertheless, she sees more possibilities than problems.
“What a great place to serve as a superintendent,” Moxley said. “Indian River County is a wonderful community, and this district has a lot of strengths and offers a lot of opportunities. Certainly, there are challenges, but there are challenges in every district.”
The budget poses a particularly difficult challenge.
The district has been without a chief financial officer since July 31, when Carter Morrison, who held the job for 12 years, was suspended with pay amid Rendell’s bogus allegations that Morrison transferred funds without permission and attempted to undermine him.
After the controversy, Rendell planned to demote Morrison to transportation director before having a sudden change of heart in the face of hard questions and reinstating him as CFO in December. By then, Morrison had found a private-sector job and responded to the reinstatement with his resignation.
In Morrison’s absence, and with the projected cash reserves in the district’s general fund falling below the board-mandated 5 percent of the total budget, Rendell engaged in an accounting shell game to make the numbers work.
Nobody knows what Moxley – or the district’s next CFO – will find when the district’s finances are fully examined.
Since Morrison’s departure six months ago, five finalists for the CFO position have pulled their names from consideration. The most recent candidate to withdraw was Derek Horton, the Florida Polytechnic University assistant vice president and comptroller, who backed out last week.
Contacted by phone, Horton confirmed that he had withdrawn his name late in the process, but he refused to say why.
Nothing against Horton, who appeared to possess the necessary qualifications for the job, but his withdrawal was best for everyone – particularly Moxley, who should be given the opportunity to hire her own CFO.
It is much too important a position to trust to Rendell’s personnel judgment as he heads for the exit.
Zorc wants Moxley to review the organizational changes made two years ago by Rendell. “I’d like her to take a look at our organizational structure and give us her thoughts on whether it works,” Zorc said. “If it doesn’t, we need to fix it.”
To be sure, Moxley wants to hire a CFO, and sooner rather than later.
“The school district needs a CFO, but it’s a challenging position and you have to find the right person,” Moxley said, adding that she’d prefer to fill the vacancy with a permanent hire, not an interim. “You want consistency, not just someone to fill the spot for six months, and you want to find someone as soon as possible.”
As for the rest of her team, Moxley said she was looking forward to spending time with Rendell this week.
“I know him from my years as a superintendent,” she said, “and I’m sure he’ll share information and be helpful in making for a smooth transition.”
That would be nice.
Of course, it also would’ve been nice if Rendell had given the School Board more than 30 days’ notice, so members could’ve more thoroughly vetted the candidates for the interim superintendent’s job. The high road, though, isn’t on his map.
We can only hope this School Board learned from the mistake make by the previous board, which failed to require Rendell to give more than 30 days’ notice – 90 would’ve sufficed – before it extended his contract last year.
“That’s something we’ll definitely discuss as a board before hiring a new superintendent,” Zorc said, “so we don’t end up in a situation like this again.”
It will not be a deal breaker.
The superintendent’s job here is an attractive position, and a nationwide search will produce plenty of quality candidates for all the right reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity to make their home in one of Florida’s most desirable communities.
There’s also the opportunity to make an immediate impact – by fixing the district’s finances, putting the right people in the right administrative positions, and restoring teachers’ morale by showing appreciation for their work.
And the pay isn’t bad.
So ignore the naysayers, who already have been proven wrong. Now that Rendell is in the past, this School Board’s best days are ahead.
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