Despite early dissent on whether to hire the Florida School Boards Association to conduct the Pinellas County school board's search for a new superintendent, board members this week voted 7-0 to approve entering into a contract with the agency. 

FSBA executive director Wayne Blanton, pictured left, is scheduled to meet in a workshop with the board on Thursday, April 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to discuss the search parameters and more.

According to the board agenda, the contract with FSBA will not exceed $20,000.

Blanton's last visit to a Pinellas County school board workshop was to help facilitate a discussion between the board and former superintendent Julie Janssen about her performance. The board voted two months later to terminate Janssen.

Janssen was quickly replaced on an interim basis by John Stewart, who plans to leave the district Dec. 31. School board members have said they'd like to vote on his replacement by September.