For months, Hillsborough County school officials have been occupied with the firing of former Superintendent MaryEllen Elia was fired.
Now, there's a new person in charge.
"We got into this business to help kids," said acting superintendent Jeff Eakins.
Eakins, who was once second in command, is now the mouthpiece for the district.
He's a man who is noted for his sense of calm.
"I am calm," Eakins said. "And I think that's helpful in times like these."
One of Eakins' biggest challenges is to boost morale and turn things around.
"The message to all of our employee groups right now is that I understand the issues that they're going through," Eakins said.
Since taking over in March, Eakins says he's been on a listening tour. He's heard from teachers, parents and community partners.
"That information is going to help me to know how moving forward we may want to create some strategies and some priorities for our district," Eakins said.
His top priority is getting more high-schoolers to graduate. A recent report highlighted three Hillsborough schools with a graduation rate of 67 percent or lower. Eakins said the way to boost those numbers in the short term is to focus on programs for the most critical year: ninth grade
After 26 years in the Hillsborough school district, Eakins said he understands the challenges and he's ready to work with the school board to tackle the problems, in his own calm way.