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On behalf of Florida superintendents, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) issues the following statement in advance of tomorrow’s Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) Local Government Committee meeting regarding Proposal 33 which will be brought before the committee for consideration and a vote.
Florida superintendents are not in support of statewide appointed superintendents which is the basis of Proposal 33. Superintendents believe the decision of whether the local superintendent of schools is elected or appointed should remain in the hands of the citizens of that local community.
Florida is a diverse state and the challenges of each county are not taken into account when constitutional mandates are unilaterally applied and citizens are denied their right to local decision-making. The citizens in local communities have a better understanding of what is needed for their community and should have the right to exercise local control in deciding whether their school superintendent is elected or appointed.
If Proposal 33 goes on the ballot, the citizens in the more populous areas of the state will be able to overturn the current constitutional provision which currently allows local citizens in 41 Florida counties to vote regarding the selection of their local school district superintendent. Essentially, the right to vote in smaller counties could be overridden by the citizens in larger, more populous areas of the state. Therefore, Florida superintendents cannot support Proposal 33.
In addition, during the recent FADSS-Florida Schools Board Association joint conference in Tampa, Florida superintendents unanimously voted to oppose Proposal 43, which seeks to enact term limits for elected school board members. Proposal 43 also raises the question as to why school board members have been singled out over other locally elected county officials.