TAMPA — The Hillsborough County School Board will take its first steps Tuesday toward naming a successor to Superintendent MaryEllen Elia, whose contract ends June 30.
Chairwoman Susan Valdes has placed an item on the agenda calling for a "discussion of transition and future leadership of the district."
Valdes said she used broad terms to encompass everything from lining up a search firm to suggesting someone who can become the interim superintendent on July 1.
"I want the discussion to be open, honest and transparent, and the board meeting will be the best setting for that," Valdes said Wednesday.
The board voted 4-3 on Jan. 20 to terminate Elia's three-year contract without cause, a move that will cost the district more than $1 million in pay and benefits. Elia has been on the job since 2005. She is the state's Superintendent of the Year and one of four finalists for the national award.
She was in Tallahassee on Wednesday at a meeting, along with other superintendents, to discuss the state's new testing system with Gov. Rick Scott.
According to the board's Jan. 20 decision, Elia will remain superintendent until June 30, but will go on vacation beginning March 6. The district has two deputy superintendents, Jeff Eakins and Cathy Valdes, and Elia could look to one of them to fill in for her during the spring months.
Reach Marlene Sokol at (813) 226-3356 or msokol@tampabay.com. Follow @marlenesokol.