Brewer will become district superintendent

Danielle Brewer has been named superintendent of Marion County Public Schools. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

Citing a surge in student achievement and a desire to maintain “steady waters,” the Marion County School Board on Dec. 18 unanimously decided to abandon its national search for a new leader, instead moving to solidify interim superintendent Danielle Brewer, Ph.D., as the district’s superintendent.

The board’s decision came after reviewing Progress Monitoring 2 (PM2) data, which showed substantial gains in student performance since Brewer took the interim role in mid-2025. According to district data, 41% of students are currently on grade level in English Language Arts (ELA), up from 37% last year, and math proficiency has risen to 27%, a four-point increase over the same period.

Board chair Sarah James, Ph.D., led the call to cancel the search, noting that the district’s projected 7% increase in graduation rates over the last two years is a direct reflection of Brewer’s leadership.

“I feel confident in the work that’s being done with the leadership we have in Marion County Public Schools right now,” James said. “This ship… is headed in a path that is positive and disrupting the leadership at this point I could see having negative implications.”

Brewer accepted the board’s invitation to stay on permanently.

“I have just had the honor of leading this incredible group… and I hope I can continue to lead this great team,” she said.

Board member Nancy Thrower emphasized that the district is reaping the benefits of “stability” after years of major distractions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple hurricanes.

“We have stability in our favor right now,” Thrower said. “The familiarity of people that have stayed, that sense of calm, creates the ability to really focus on the task at hand. I want to be married to reality, not to process… Why would we spend that money right now to do a deep and wide national search?”

While the support was unanimous, some board members acknowledged the difficulty of deviating from the formal search process originally promised to the public. Board member Eric Cummings, who has been a vocal proponent of following established procedures, nonetheless agreed that Brewer’s results were undeniable.

“I fully support Dr. Brewer, but I also support processes,” Cummings said. “I just want to be on record saying I believe in the process, but I also believe that Dr. Brewer and the team can get the job done.”

Board member Allison Campbell, who originally favored outside candidates during the initial interim selection, stated she was “more than pleasantly surprised” by the current trajectory of student achievement.

“The energy within the district is palpable; you can feel it, you can see it,” Campbell said. “Student achievement has to be the primary focus and the goal of everything that we do. The data is looking positive… the leadership that has been put into place is exceeding expectations.”

Board member Lori Conrad pointed to the positive morale among school staff as a key factor in her support.

“Our data is trending upward, graduation is trending upward, and staff, when you visit schools, are excited about the direction that we’re moving,” Conrad said. “Staff members are happy and community members are happy… people are very happy to see that you are at the table.”

Regarding the history of the position, Campbell reminded the community that residents voted to go with an appointed superintendent instead of an elected one in a 2018 ballot measure. She noted that many citizens who previously advocated for returning to an elected model have reached out to express their appreciation for the district’s current direction.

The board will meet on Jan. 8 to begin formal contract negotiations. While final salary figures are yet to be determined, board members indicated the compensation would likely reflect that of an appointed superintendent in a district of Marion County’s size, which is significantly higher than the salary structure for elected superintendents.

Campbell provided context on the salary range for an elected superintendent to clarify the financial implications of the role. She said that if Marion County still had an elected superintendent, the state-calculated salary for 2025-2026 would be $217,448.

According to Campbell, when the community voted to move to an appointed model in 2018, the salary for that position was around $140,000. The state-mandated salary range for elected superintendents, however, saw an increase of approximately $42,000 from 2023 to 2025.