TAMPA — Answering a reporter's question, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said Wednesday that the Hillsborough County School Board "absolutely" should keep Superintendent MaryEllen Elia and not dismiss her next week.
On Tuesday, the School Board is scheduled to consider a motion to end Elia's contract. Last month, her peers named her Florida Superintendent of the Year, but her relationships with some of her own board members have been rocky. Buying out the contract for Elia, who last year made $289,000, likely would cost taxpayers $500,000.
"Terminating Mary Ellen's contract would be a huge mistake," Buckhorn said. "I think she's a world-class leader. I think she's put the Hillsborough school district on the map. I think to lose that kind of talent over petty, personal disagreements would do a disservice to the city. You don't have to like someone to recognize talent and to recognize that they are capable of running a great organization. I think she does.
"I think the current dynamic over there is the only dysfunctional agency in the Tampa area," he added. "Everyone else is singing off the same page. They're focused, they're executing, and I think that kind of drama is really not necessary, and I hope the new members recognize what a mistake that would be."
Speaking to reporters outside the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Office, where he paid a $9,000 qualifying fee to get his name on the March 3 city ballot, Buckhorn said he may speak to some School Board members before next week's discussion on Elia's future.
"This is petty disagreements that folks can't seem to get beyond, and they lose sight of the bigger picture, which is the performance of the district, and that district is ... a top-performing district and she is a top-performing superintendent, and she should be allowed to finish," Buckhorn said.
And why, the same reporter asked, should people care about what the mayor of Tampa says about the Hillsborough school system.
"Because the K through 12 system produces the work product for the jobs that we're trying to create," Buckhorn said. "When we are out talking to corporations, they are just as concerned about the state of our education system as they are about the tax system. Knowing that you have top leadership at the helm — professional leadership, apolitical leadership — in a system that is the eighth largest school system in the country is really important to our economic development efforts. We can't afford drama in the Hillsborough County school district."