Community urges national search for school superintendent
A special meeting of the Marion County School Board was held April 29 to officially appoint an interim leader and hear thoughts from residents.
File photo: Eric Cummings, the vice chair of the Marion County Public School Board, listens during a Marion County Public School Board meeting in the auditorium at Marion Technical Institute in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
A special meeting of the Marion County School Board on the evening of April 29 revealed a public consensus that Danielle Brewer is the right choice as interim superintendent for now, but a national search should be conducted to find the next superintendent.
The meeting was organized to officially appoint Brewer as interim superintendent and approve her employment agreement. Public comments, however, proved the community is looking ahead at the future of the school district and urged the board to do the same.
Ten community members were given five minutes each to vocalize their concerns. A majority of them had opinions about the upcoming search to replace current Superintendent Diane Gullett, but agreed Brewer would excel in the meantime.
The first speaker was Marion County Public Schools Area Director Ben Whitehouse, who said he had worked closely with Brewer at two high schools starting in 2010.
“I can honestly say without hesitation that working with her at both schools made me a better leader,” he said. “Her genuine love and concern for both the students and staff we supported was something to admire.”
Danielle Brewer [Marion County Public Schools]
“I support Dr. Brewer wholeheartedly as an educator, leader, a champion for our students and as our interim superintendent,” he said.
Three other speakers shared strong supporting sentiments on behalf of Brewer, including former MCPS principal Gary Smallridge, who believes Brewer could become a permanent superintendent.
Smallridge worked closely with Brewer at Fort King Middle School and together they helped raise the school grade to a “B” and maintained it the following year.
“Dr. Brewer is the right choice as your interim superintendent and I cannot support her any more than what has been said,” Smallridge stated.
Smallridge said the public was talking as if national searches were a recurring process in Marion County, but pointed out the district had only done one before when they hired Gullett. He said Brewer was appointed to be in Gullett’s cabinet and is more than good enough to fill this position.
“Do the national search, but what I want to caution you on is do not eliminate Dr. Brewer from being considered for the national search because you spent 40, 50, 60 thousand dollars conducting a national search,” Smallridge said.
Board member Eric Cummings echoed those sentiments and reassured the public that Brewer’s employment agreement does not limit her from applying for the permanent superintendent position.
The other speakers were focused less on Brewer and more on what would follow when her one-year contract ends.
Marion County Republican State Committeewoman Patricia Schafer spoke on behalf of Republican State Committee Chair Brigette Smith.
“I am here to express that, on behalf of the Marion County Republican Executive Committee, and the nearly 140,000 registered republicans that we represent, our absolute, unequivocal expectation is a national search for the permanent superintendent,” Schafer said.
She said an appointed superintendent allows a large pool to search for the best and brightest candidate. To further support her point of a national search, Schafer read a quote by Smith that was published in a previous article in the “Gazette.”
The statement was: “We believe the students of Marion County Public Schools deserve the best opportunities to reach success. Our current ranking compared to the other 66 counties is abysmal. I think every parent would agree that MCPS should conduct a nationwide search for our next superintendent; not sure that hiring from within a failing school district is our best option.”
Prior to the meeting, Marion County NAACP Branch 5114 sent out a message calling all Democrats to attend to urge the school board members “to use the process in place to select the next permanent Marion County Superintendent of Schools,” according to their call to action.
Kiersten Angel asked the board to consider whether it wants Brewer to be the interim superintendent, let alone a permanent one.
“We need and want someone who would be subject to a national search,” Angel said. “We need and want a job description. We need and want a timeline from you all that says what we are going to be doing in hiring this person.”
Angel suggested asking the teachers and employees what they expect of a school superintendent and told the board to prioritize this national search.
“We need leadership, we need direction, and I think it’s very important that we get this in our school superintendent,” Angel said.
Board member Allison Campbell asked the other members if they would be interested in conducting their own community survey, similar to what a national search firm did when they found Gullett.
“So, while we are certainly hearing, and I believe wholeheartedly, that a national search is important, if the majority of our community does not believe that that’s important, then we can know in advance and actually use that to guide our decision making,” Campbell said.
While the board did not indicate its official plan for a superintendent search, the members agreed that conducting a community survey would be wise. Only vague comments were provided to “see how it goes” with the interim superintendent before hiring a firm for a costly national search.
“I’ll finish by saying, welcome, Dr. Brewer,” board member Nancy Thrower said. “Thank you for taking on this huge lift. Please know that you have a lot of people behind you. The board voted unanimously to support you in this contract for the next year and I very much look forward to continuing to work with you.”
Gullett will retain control over district operations until the end of her term on July 11. During this time, Brewer will have the opportunity to recommend candidates for any job vacancies in the district. Brewer will earn a base salary of $169,333 and receive benefits. A successor to become the permanent superintendent must be chosen by April 29, 2026.
To learn more, go to marionschools.net/school_board
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