In a surprising turn of events, the Manatee County School District decided in a meeting that Tuesday night would be Superintendent Rick Mills’ last night. They also appointed an interium superintendent.
School board members passed the motion 4-1.
Board member Dave Minor told Bay News 9 it was the smoothest way they could transition and move forward. Mills requested to resign on July 31. He seemed pleased with the decision.
“I think it’s a good consideration by the board for myself and the school district in moving forward,” Mills said while addressing the board.
Not only does he now get to retire two months ahead of time, but he will receive his full pay for 20 weeks until October. This decision baffled board member Robert Gause.
“Maybe I’m the only one who will have a concern about this," Gause said. "But what we're doing is we're agreeing to let the superintendent retire affective tonight, and we are agreeing to spend $30,000 on top of it?"
According to the school boards attorney Mitchell Teitelbaum, the choice allows the school board full authority to find a replacement.
“It allow us to move immediately towards a superintendent search,” Teitelbaum said.
Xtavia Bailey thinks Mills should work if he is getting paid.
“I probably would have preferred him to work to July 31,” she said.
Since moving on is the new mantra, the board voted to have Deputy Superintendent Don Hall become interim superintendent. He was sworn in Wednesday morning. Now the board just needs to find a new Superintendent.
Board member Diana Greene is being considered for the superintendent position. Greene applied for the job at the same time as Mills and has shown interest in other superintendent jobs around the country. They are going to be taking other applications.