Voters may get the chance to decide on primary election day in August if Escambia County’s superintendent of schools is elected or appointed to the position.
Escambia’s Board of County Commissioners is considering scheduling a public hearing on April 1, 2026, to consider adopting an ordinance authorizing a countywide referendum that would put that question before voters on Aug. 18, 2026, as requested by the Escambia County School Board.
If approved, the question that would be put before voters on election day is:
Shall the superintendent of schools of Escambia County, Florida, be elected by the majority of the qualified electors of Escambia, County, Florida? Yes or No.
If the referendum passes in 2026, Escambia County voters will elect a superintendent during the November 2028 general election.
In February 2025, the school board approved a resolution in accordance with state law that says a district that has adopted the method of appointing a superintendent may, after four years, return to its former status by resolution requesting the board of county commissioners place the proposition on the ballot at a general election or a statewide primary or special election.
In 2018, Escambia County voters narrowly approved ending elected superintendents and switching to an appointed superintendent model. Florida is one of two states that allow for the direct election of local district superintendents. The other state is Alabama. Mississippi abolished elected superintendents in 2019.
The 2018 vote occurred during the general election, and voters approved going to appointed superintendents by just 910 votes out of 123,926 votes cast on the question.
After a nationwide search, the board hired Tim Smith, but he was terminated in a surprise 3-2 vote in 2023.
Since that time, Keith Leonard has been leading the school district. Leonard, however, is set to retire in 2027 or 2028.
Escambia’s Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to vote on scheduling the public hearing concerning the referendum at its next board meeting on March 5, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., 221 Palafox Place.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Elected vs. appointed superintendent may be back on Escambia ballots this August
Reporting by Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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